Pashinyan promises to hold accountable all those involved in 2008 March bloody events
17.08.2018,
21:06
Addressing a huge rally in Republican Square in central Yerevan today evening Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised that no person involved in the bloody crackdown on opposition back in 2008 March 1-2 will escape responsibility.
YEREVAN, August 17. /ARKA/. Addressing a huge rally in Republican Square in central Yerevan today evening Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised that no person involved in the bloody crackdown on opposition back in 2008 March 1-2 will escape responsibility.
In late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan set off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
Former president Robert Kocharyan was charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons in 2008 March. The same charge was brought against Yuri Khachaturov, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who had been the chief of the Yerevan garrison at the time of the bloody events of 2008. However, Khachaturov was released on bail, for AMD 5 million.
Also former defense minister Mikael Harutyunyan is wanted by the law-enforcement authorities as a defendant in the case. He is accused of illegally using the Armenian armed forces against opposition supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan in the wake of the disputed presidential election held in February 2008.
Kocharyan, arrested on July 27, was released from custody on June 13 after Armenia’s Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the post-election violence. One of his defense lawyers, Ruben Sahakyan, said that the court based its decision on Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status.
The ruling of the Court of Appeals was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.” It said also that it will ask the Prosecutor General to appeal the decision at the Court of Cassation.
"Now many persons who understand that their place is in prison, that they will be held answerable for their crimes , have begun to position themselves as victims of political repression, and no one asks: if you are a victim of political persecution, what are you doing on large? Or do you think that we do not know how to call judges and force them to make rulings, " Pashinyan told the crowd on the square. Tthe current authorities have abandoned this practice, he added.
"But that does not mean that we will let someone escape responsibility. I want to make it clear that I rule out that someone will escape responsibility for killing 10 people on March 1 and overthrowing the state system. That's not possible! The killers will be put behind bars! I am authorized to declare this on behalf of the people, and citizens of Armenia, " he stressed. -0-
In late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan set off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
Former president Robert Kocharyan was charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons in 2008 March. The same charge was brought against Yuri Khachaturov, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who had been the chief of the Yerevan garrison at the time of the bloody events of 2008. However, Khachaturov was released on bail, for AMD 5 million.
Also former defense minister Mikael Harutyunyan is wanted by the law-enforcement authorities as a defendant in the case. He is accused of illegally using the Armenian armed forces against opposition supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan in the wake of the disputed presidential election held in February 2008.
Kocharyan, arrested on July 27, was released from custody on June 13 after Armenia’s Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the post-election violence. One of his defense lawyers, Ruben Sahakyan, said that the court based its decision on Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status.
The ruling of the Court of Appeals was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.” It said also that it will ask the Prosecutor General to appeal the decision at the Court of Cassation.
"Now many persons who understand that their place is in prison, that they will be held answerable for their crimes , have begun to position themselves as victims of political repression, and no one asks: if you are a victim of political persecution, what are you doing on large? Or do you think that we do not know how to call judges and force them to make rulings, " Pashinyan told the crowd on the square. Tthe current authorities have abandoned this practice, he added.
"But that does not mean that we will let someone escape responsibility. I want to make it clear that I rule out that someone will escape responsibility for killing 10 people on March 1 and overthrowing the state system. That's not possible! The killers will be put behind bars! I am authorized to declare this on behalf of the people, and citizens of Armenia, " he stressed. -0-
