March 20, 2003 - 19:03 AMT
TRIAL OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS INDICTED IN ESPIONAGE IN FAVOR OF AZERBAIJAN BEGAN IN YEREVAN
The trial on the criminal case concerning 4 Armenian citizens indicted for parricide via espionage in favor of special services of Azerbaijan started in a Yerevan court of first instance. As reported by "Arminfo" agency, Nina Shirina, who is a citizen of Armenia since July 2000, is charged in compliance with parricide via espionage and attempted diversion articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia. Since 1995 she periodically met with officers of Azeri special services and conveyed data on the domestic, economic life in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, frontier zones, Russian military base situated in Armenia, volume of products being imported from Iran. Shirina got $150-300 for "the services." Three other Armenian citizens are also indicted for parricide via espionage - Iveta Filkova and her cousins - Alexander Gasparian and Edgar Filkov. Former officer of the operative department of the general staff of the armed forces of Armenia Artur Oganesov, who was made to give a written undertaking on not leaving as a preventive measure, is indicted on an article of the Criminal Code of Armenia for divulging a state secret. The espionage group realized criminal activities in 1995-2002.