Arsen Artsruni, Sentenced to Life for the 'Dro Case', Released Early

The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, under Judge David Harutyunyan, has conditionally and early released Arsen Artsruni, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the 'Dro' case. This was reported to Tert.am by one of Artsruni's lawyers, Robert Revazyan.

It is noteworthy that Arsen Artsruni has spent 28 years in captivity. In 1996, the Supreme Court of Armenia found him guilty of instigating two murders within the framework of the 'Dro case' and sentenced him to death. In 2003, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by a decree from the President of Armenia.

In 2006, based on a request from the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia, the court reviewed the case in accordance with changes in the Criminal Code. The Court of Appeal denied Artsruni's request for early conditional release in 2018.

About the 'Dro Case'
The 'Dro' organization carried out two major operations, named 'Kerob' and 'Top-1'. During the 'Kerob' operation, in the night of October 12-13, 1993, members of the 'Dro' organization killed Armenian citizens Ashot Nersisyan and his wife, Nune Marukyan. Subsequently, on May 2, 1994, during the 'Top-1' operation, the Dashnaktsutyun member Gagik Sahakyan was also killed.

Arsen Artsruni and Armenak Mnjoyan, the main defendants in the 'Dro case', were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Mnjoyan passed away on January 6, 2019.