Law-enforcement charges 90 in post-election violence, others wanted

by Armenian Reporter staff

Published: Saturday March 15, 2008

Yerevan - Armenia's law-enforcement and security agencies have so far charged 90 individuals following the March 1-2 riots in Yerevan, the agencies reported on March 12. Most arrests were made this week. Six more people are currently in detention and will be either charged or released after questioning.

As of March 12, some 764 people have been questioned, 196 in Yerevan and 568 in Armenia's provinces, according to the national police spokes­person Sayat Shirinian. Armenia's Human Rights Ombuds­person Armen Harutiunian, who visited 20 of the suspects under arrest, said that nearly all of them were connected to Levon Ter-Petrossian's presidential campaign and post­election protests. He said one of the suspects he visited complained of being beaten by police, and two staged a four-day-long hunger strike in protest over their arrest.
Some of the key players in Mr. Ter-Petrossian's campaign, including member of parliament and millionaire business­person Khachatur Sukiasian and newspaper-editor-turned-activist Nikol Pashinian, remain at large and are wanted by police. Law-enforcement officials have also not ruled out charging Mr. Ter-Petrossian. While the officials have not published a complete list of those arrested, citing the interests of the ongoing investigation, several dozen high-profile suspects have been identified.

Those identified as arrested include members of parliament Hakob Hakobian, Miasnik Malkhasian, and Sassun Mikaelian (all three hold top positions in the Yerkrapah veterans' organization), former deputy speaker of parliament Karapet Rubinian, former foreign minister Alexander Arzoumanian, former Yerevan Kentron community head Ararat Zurabian, former Siunik governor Roman Navasardian, former taxation minister Smbat Ayvazian, former customs director Yerjanik Abgarian, former deputy prosecutor general Gagik Jhangirian, and others.

The law-enforcement agencies have argued that the March 1-2 riots were pre-planned and the actions of protestors who clashed with police appeared organized. "They were coordinated from one center with the aim of destabilizing the country and coming to power by illegal means," the officials charge. They also claim that some of the protestors used firearms, pointing to several dozen injured police and security personnel, most of whom had leg injuries, including bullet wounds.

According to Armenia's Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, a preliminary investigation determined that internal security forces Capt. Hamlet Tatevosian and two protestors died as a result of an explosion of a makeshift grenade.

Anahit Bakshian, a member of Parliament for the opposition Heritage party, visited with families of the four civilian dead - Armen Farmanian (33 years old), Zakhar Hovannisian (27), Gor Kloyan (27) and David Petrosian (33). Ms. Bakshian reportedly told RFE/RL that all of them died from bullet wounds.

The law-enforcement officials repeated this week that security forces were ordered to use deadly force only when their lives were directly threatened by protestors' actions and that they primarily used tracer bullets and fired in the air. An internal investigation is reportedly underway to determine if any of the rules were violated.

In all, eight individuals, one security officer and seven civilians, died on the night of the riots.