Brother of former Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan has been detained as a part of a criminal case into the March 1, 2008 events in Yerevan.

Armenia’s National Security Service searched the factory formally owned by Hambik Gevorgyan but belonging to former PM’s brother Henrikh Abrahamyan where weapons and ammunition were found.  Gevorgyan and Abrahamyan are charged with illegal possession of weapons.

According to preliminary operative data, the weapons and ammunition used during the events that occurred in capital city Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008, Director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan confirmed on Thursday. 

Special Investigation Service (SIS) Chief Sasun Khachatryan, in turn, said that all those who may have information on the March 1 case will be questioned.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday is examining the appeal to commute the first-instance court’s decision on remanding Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan in custody.

 Prior to this court hearing, 45 MPs had submitted a petition to the Prosecutor General’s Office, and for commuting the precautionary measure of arrest, which was selected for Kocharyan. The petition, however, was rejected on Wednesday.

The Karabakh Defense Army reported about the powerful blast and voices heard on Wednesday afternoon from one of the military outposts of the adversary.

The incident occurred in the southeastern direction of the line of contact between the armies of Azerbaijan and Karabakh. “An ambulance car and five military vehicles approached the site ten minutes after the incident. Azerbaijani army has not provided any reports about the incident,” the Karabakh army said.

A 32-year-old driver has died in a tragic road accident early Thursday morning in Armenia’s Lori Province as a car went off road on the Spitak-Yerevan motorway, crashed into the roadside barrier, and ended up in the nearby field.

The driver was serving at a military unit of the Ministry of Defense, and he was an army major.