Key Witness in Kanaker Tui Case Arrested

A key witness in the murder case of former MP 61-year-old Artush Simonian has been arrested, reports Armlur.am.

As is known, recently, officers from the main division of the Criminal Police, following months of operational and investigative measures, located and apprehended a 31-year-old man in one of the houses in the capital’s Amaranotsan 1st area on the evening of May 3, who was wanted for particularly serious crimes.

According to the police, he had been wanted since December of last year on charges of murder by a group of individuals or an organized group, and for unlawfully acquiring, selling, storing, transporting, or carrying weapons and ammunition by a group of persons acting in agreement.

The case in question pertains to the events of the night of November 11, 2021, starting from 2:45 AM, when various medical centers in the capital reported to the Kanaker-Zeytun police department that six individuals had been hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Among them, 61-year-old Artush Simonian and 38-year-old Arthur Boryan had died.

Rapid response teams dispatched to the hospitals discovered that the men had received their injuries at Simonian’s house on 16th Street in Kanaker. Police, investigative committee, and prosecutor's office officials who had arrived at the scene uncovered four pistols, two submachine guns, and over four dozen cartridges, along with the bodies of 43-year-old Arthur Ghazaryan and 37-year-old Arayik Khachatryan. They had sustained life-threatening gunshot wounds.

The operational-investigative measures and investigative actions aimed at clarifying all circumstances of the case are ongoing.

It should be noted that gunfire was reported at one of the houses in Kanaker on November 11, resulting in the deaths of four individuals, while three others were taken to the hospital with various injuries. Among the deceased was the criminal authority known as Kanaker Tui, Arthur Ghazaryan, and former MP 61-year-old Artush Simonian. Among the injured was the son of the deceased MP, Vladimir Simonian.

Following the gunfire, the investigative body had arrested the sons of the deceased MP, one of whom, Hakob Simonian, was recently released, and his release has been contested in the Court of Cassation of Armenia. It is noteworthy that the gunfire occurred right at the former MP's residence.