Larisa Alaverdian: Guys in Mataghis case were not guilty

“In 2004 I personally examined the Mataghis case. I am sure those guys were not guilty,” former Ombudsperson of Armenia Ms. Larisa Alaverdian said at a meeting with reporters today, when speaking about the verdict of not guilty returned in the “Mataghis case”, as well as about the domestic political developments.

She noted that the “Mataghis case” occurred during Gagik Jangirian’s term as Military Prosecutor and that it is not surprising that Jangirian has made a statement to the effect that the men were guilty.

“Our group composed of four persons went to Mataghis and examined the case, which was later also examined by Zaruhi Postanjian,” Larisa Aleverdian said.

Responding to the question about the eavesdropping of the Zurabian-Oskanian conversation, she said that the incident has promoted the images of the Armenian National Congress (HAK) and its member Levon Zurabian. In her words, she objects to publicizing private conversations of political figures.

As for the upcoming presidential election, she said that all the elections held since 1996 have not been political ones, adding that the situation should change. “This situation will result in a downfall”.

Commenting on the Zurabian-Oskanian conversation’s eavesdropping, HHK member Mkrtich Minasian said that the associates of those two politicians knew about the meeting and that it is still unclear who was behind the eavesdropping.

According to M. Minasian, the Armenian president set a task of holding transparent elections.