News - Sentence of Azerbaijan soldier convicted for Armenia’s Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine guard’s murder is increased

The sentence of Azerbaijani soldier Huseyin Akhundov, who had illegally crossed into Armenia and was convicted for the murder of the security guard of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine of Armenia, has been increased. The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia granted the appeal by the legal successors of the murdered security guard of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine, Hayrapet Meliksetyan, and partially overturned the first instance court verdict and sentenced Akhundov to life imprisonment, Pastinfo reported. On April 10, two Azerbaijani servicemen, Agshin Babirov and Huseyin Akhundov, had illegally crossed into Armenia and later had been apprehended. By the decision of the court of first instance of Syunik Province, Babirov was found guilty of illegally crossing the Armenian border and transporting military equipment, and was sentenced to 11.5 years in prison. Akhundov was found guilty of illegally crossing the Armenian border, transporting ammunition, and killing the security guard of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The injured party, however, was dissatisfied with this verdict, and it filed an appeal requesting that Huseyin Akhundov be sentenced to life imprisonment—which has been granted now.