Armenian National Congress demands authorities to find and prosecute those involved in assassination attempt on Hayrikyan

YEREVAN, February 1. /ARKA/. The opposition Armenian National Congress demands that the authorities track down all those guilty of the assassination attempt against Paruyr Hayrikyan, one of eight candidates in the February 18 presidential poll, and prosecute them to the full extent of the law, Levon Zurabyan, coordinator of the Congress, told journalists refraining from any comment.    

Paruyr Hayrikyan, was shot and wounded in a central city Yerevan yesterday night at 23:30 in an assassination attempt. He was rushed into the Surb Grikor Lusavorich Hospital where a bullet was extracted from his shoulder. The police and the National Security Service’s officers have already launched an investigation into the case. 

The gunman, if tracked down, will be charged with an attempted assassination of a political and public activist which committed to stop his activity.   

Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian president in office; Hrant Bagratyan, a former prime minister and the leader of Freedom party; Raffi Hovannisian, a former foreign minister and the leader of Heritage party; Paruyr Hayrikyan, a prominent Soviet-era dissident and the head of the National Self-Determination Party; Arman Melikyan, a former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Andrias Ghukasyan, a political analyst and head of Radio Hay; Vardan Sedrakyan, a specialist in epics, and Aram Harutyunyan, leader of National Consent party will compete for presidency in the February 18 poll. -0-