Anahit Bakhshyan, widow of the Vice President of the National Assembly Yuri Bakhshyan, who was killed on October 27, sent a letter to RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, RA NA President Ararat Mirzoyan and RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan on 14 January, noting that Armenia will declare about the higher level of its sovereignty with the presented step.

The letter is presented below:

“Dear gentlemen,

The following is the view in connection with reopening of October 27 Case, of the legal successor of Vice President of the National Assembly Yuri Bakhshyan killed in the October 27 terrorist attack in the session hall of the RA National Assembly:

The terrorist act on 27 October, 1999, in the National Assembly beheaded our state, the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Armenia. President of the National Assembly Karen Demirchyan, Vice-Presidents Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, MPs Michael Kotanyan, Armenak Armenakyan and Henrik Abrahamyan, the RA Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Minister Leonard Petrosyan were killed. Within 8 minutes, the Republic of Armenia was beheaded, namely in the face of the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and the preliminary investigation identified the members of the families of the eight killed state officials were identified as legal successor of the victim  and the injured MPs in the hall were recognized as victims. I strongly believe that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Republic of Armenia should be recognized as the legal successor of the victim, especially in the case of the velvet revolution. It is not a secret that this terrorist attack from the very beginning was directed against the political power elected in 1999, which in every possible way would protect and defend the strategic sovereignty of our country, our independence, which we were gradually losing in the years following the 1999 terrorist attacks. Thank God, the speed of that downturn has fallen noticeably, but this will be more tangible and the foundations of our sovereignty will be further strengthened as a result of a comprehensive, thorough and objective investigation into the October 27 terrorist act. The reopening of the case is already a reality and it has been forwarded to the NSS for examination. On 11 January 2020, we have already received the decision to bring the criminal case to procedure. I am concerned only with the formation of an investigative group formed in the NSS (one body), as it is evident from the content of the 17 volumes of the excluded section that during the 4 years of the investigation, no one was accused of organizing, directing, no one was involved in this trial as a defendant, but there is a sufficient combination of factual data, existence of the perpetrators particularly in the case of high-ranking officials of those bodies responsible for preventing terrorism and properly ensuring the security of senior government officials, which is a sacred duty of the NSS.

And so, I, the widow of the Vice President of the National Assembly Yuri Bakhshyan, who was killed in the October 27 terrorist attack in the National Assembly, suggest:

1. Following the reopening of the October 27 case, the investigating body should declare the Republic of Armenia as victim’s successor in the person of the National Assembly and the Government of the Republic of Armenia. I strongly believe that with this step, after the revolution of 2018, the Republic of Armenia, which has a great deal of confidence among the people, will declare its sovereignty at a higher level than it had after the 1999 terrorist attack.
2. Assign the reopened case to a special investigative group formed for this purpose, which will include the most professional investigators of the Republic of Armenia (including NSS investigators), who have impeccable work biographies and high regard toward their shoulder straps, for whom securing Armenia’s state security is a matter of honor, and excluding the repetition is a matter of life .
3. By declaring itself a victim’s successor in the reopened case, the Republic of Armenia will be a claimant to the exercise of its rights under the Constitution, international documents and laws of the Republic of Armenia, fully protecting our state interest and state rights. The protection of the state’s rights will be placed on the injured party’s successor, the RA NA President, and the RA Government, in the person of the RA Prime Minister. They will be responsible for the effectiveness of the case themselves without interfering with the investigation team’s actions.
4. Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia, from big to small, who is also interested in the reopening of this case and the revelations of the organizers of terrorism, is a victim of October 27 terrorist act. This case should reveal the internal and external enemies of our state; their detection has no alternative, so that no crime against our State will ever be repeated, and the investigative team should operate under one motto: NEVER, AGAIN. I expect you to respond to this letter in writing or publicly.

I am sure that the members of the families of the other seven killed statesmen will share this idea.

Sincerely yours, legal successor of the Vice President of the National Assembly Yuri Bakhshyan killed in the October 27 terrorist attack in the session hall of the RA National Assembly,

Anahit Bakhshyan

14.01.2020.”