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 The Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of CIS Member States suggested the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan to discuss the written request made by the RA General Prosecutor’s Office’s on legal assistance concerning the criminal case initiated on the death of the RA citizen Manvel Saribekyan who had been killed in October 2010 in Baku and to provide information about the results to the Coordinating Council and the RA General Prosecutor’s Office.

Under the aegis of the International Committee of the Red Cross on November 4, 2010 the body of the citizen of the Republic of Armenia Manvel Mamikon Saribekyan killed in October 2010 in Baku was returned to Armenia. On November 5, 2010 a criminal case was initiated case according to the RA Criminal Code Article 104, parts 5 and 13 (murder committed with particular cruelty and out of motives of national, race or religious hate or fanatism) by the Investigation Division of Tsambarak of the RA Police. The preliminary investigation of the criminal case was tasked to the Investigation Department of the National Security Service adjunct to the RA Government.

In order to carry out comprehensive and complete investigation and guided by the Minsk Convention “On Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters” 22 January 1993, the RA Prosecutor General on December 14, 2010 sent a letter to the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Mr. Zakir Bekir with the request to provide assistance to the investigation of the mentioned criminal case, in particular to inform whether any investigation on the case of Manvel Mamikon Saribekyan’s violent death had been carried out by the Investigation Bodies of Azerbaijan and if there had been, to send the criminal case or the materials of the criminal case. The General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia had also assured that the received data and documents would be used only in the framework of the investigation.

The General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan did not reply to the request made by the RA General Prosecutor’s Office. Taking into consideration that the reply is of vital importance for the preliminary investigation of the criminal case on April 5, 2011 the Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan sent a letter to the Chairman of the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS Member States and the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yuri Chaika asking to assist in receiving a response to the written request.

The Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of CIS Member States responded to the RA General Prosecutor’s Office’s request and suggested the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan to provide information about the results to both the Coordinating Council and the RA General Prosecutor’s Office.