Murderer of Armenian Citizen Sentenced to 21 Years of Imprisonment

PanARMENIAN.Net - The verdict on an ordered murder in Russian town of Kostroma was announced today. Alexander Belov, Alexander Serov and Andrey Potapov were found guilty in organizing and committing the murder of Armenian citizen Ivan Khaltyan as well as in keeping weapons and ammunition. Dozens of witnesses were interrogated during month-long legal proceedings. The prosecutor demanded life sentence for murderer Andrey Potapov, 20 and 21 years of imprisonment for his accomplices.



However the court revealed some faults during the investigation and meted out a milder punishment. Potapov was accused of two murders. Before killing Khaltyan he shot dead another entrepreneur over property disputes and was wanted by the police. However the investigation failed to reveal who was in debt and how big the debt was. Both the victims and convicted were engaged in a business that was not transparent at all. The search showed that the three accused were keeping weapons. The police found 2 shells, several pistols with silencer and hand-made exploding assembly.



Thus, Andrey Potapov will spend 21 years in prison. Alexander Serov, as the initiator, was sentenced to 18 years while Alexander Belov was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment. The verdict may be appealed during next 10 days.