Armenian sentenced to 22 years in prison for arms smuggling to U.SMarch 7, 2009 - 18:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An Armenian convicted of conspiring to smuggle Russian military arms into the United States including rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Friday. Artur Solomonyan, 30, was convicted as the leader of an arms trafficking operation and was found guilty of arms trafficking conspiracy and arms trafficking in July 2007 along with South African Christiaan Dewet Spies and four others. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in federal court in Manhattan, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said. During their trial prosecutors said Solomonyan and Spies were the group's ringleaders. They met with an informant from 2003 to 2005 and sold him a machine gun and assault weapons and delivered them to Los Angeles, Florida and New York. The men also attempted to broker other deals, prosecutors said, showing digital photos of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and other weapons from Armenia and Chechnya they said were also for sale, but those deals were never completed. The other four conspirators included three Georgians and one Ukrainian. A sentencing hearing for Spies was adjourned to a later date, Reuters reports. ____________________________________________________________________________ Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. |