YEREVAN COURT SENTENCED AZERI SPY TO 12 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yerevan Court of First Instance has sentenced Andrey Maziyev accused in espionage in favor of Azerbaijan to 12 years of imprisonment. The court considered the accusations on all the three articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia proved. These three articles are treason through espionage, plotting a terrorist act, and plotting the murder of a state political figure, specifically, the Armenian President, reported Regnum news agency. It should be noted that the prosecution in the person of Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan demanded that Maziyev be sentences to 13 years of deprivation of liberty. When announcing the verdict the court took into account the mitigating circumstances, specifically the frank confessions of prisoner at bar, repentance and assistance to the investigation. Upon the completion of the court hearing A. Hovsepyan noted that "all special services engage in intelligence, however organization of acts of terrorism and assassinations are specific crimes that should be punished by law." It should be reminded that Maziyev cooperated with Azerbaijan's special services from October 1999 to January 4, 2005. Since his recruitment he had a nickname of Frolov and fulfilled a number of tasks. He specifically collected and disseminated information about domestic political and economic developments in Armenia, main political parties, information on Armenia's military, defense, and armed forces, as well as foreign investments. He also gathered information about the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, its society and leaders of main parties, their shadowed business. Officers of special services of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan Faig Shamilov (the Armenian party has announced a search for him), some Mahmud and Zaur, as well as messengers Nodar and Zurab worked with Maziyev. On the whole, Maziyev met with representatives of Azerbaijan's special services 18 times and received approximately $2.5 thousand for his services. He was also commissioned to take photos of the buildings of foreign embassies, hotels, offices of political parties, state transport numbers. Besides he was to find out detailed information about the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. Maziyev did not fulfill the task. At the same time, when fulfilling the tasks of the Azeri special services, Maziyev photographed Zvartnots airport, its landing strip, President Kocharian's plane landing at the airport, helicopters protecting the territory of the airport, location of snipers, as well as the front of the presidential residence.