Armenian Defence Minister wanted in case on dispersal of protesters

Colonel General Mikael Harutyunyan, who in March 2008 held the position of the Armenian Defence Minister, was accused of overthrowing the constitutional order in connection with the dispersal of protest actions, investigators report today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 1-2, 2008, in Yerevan, the mass riots and street clashes began after the dispersal of a rally organized by the opposition, which was not satisfied with the results of the presidential election, won by Serzh Sargsyan. As a result of clashes with the police, ten people were killed and more than 250 were injured then.

Mikael Harutyunyan is put on the wanted list, and a motion to select a pre-trial restriction measure in the form of arrest is submitted the court, the Special Investigating Service (SIS) of Armenia reports today.

According to the investigators, Mikael Harutyunyan is suspected of signing the Order 0038 (with the stamp "Top Secret") "On the fulfilment of the tasks set by the supreme commander-in-chief" to introduce armed army units in Yerevan.

"After the dispersal of the protesters from Freedom Square, the protest actions continued near the Myasnikyan monument. And at the same evening, army and police units used weapons, explosives and special equipment to start dispersing the peaceful assembly. In the course of the dispersal, eight protesters and two policemen were killed and hundreds of people got injuries of varying degrees of severity," the SIS of Armenia reports in its statement.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 3, 2018 at 05:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.