Politics

Arthur Davtyan Appeals to Supreme Court to Overturn the Case of Musheg Saghatelyan Convicted in the March 1 Events

31.01.2019 13:22

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia has filed a cassation appeal regarding the decision made by the Yerevan Criminal Court concerning Musheg Saghatelyan, who participated in the March 1 events of 2008-2009, seeking a review of the case due to new circumstances.

By the ruling of October 23, 2008, Musheg Saghatelyan was found guilty under Articles 235 (Part 4), 316 (Part 1), and 316 (Part 2) of the Criminal Code of Armenia, and was sentenced to a fine and five years of imprisonment.

He was charged with having engaged in mass public events in Yerevan following the presidential elections of 2008, during which, on March 1, he did not comply with the lawful demands of police officers and used non-dangerous violence against them by pushing, pulling, and kicking, as well as attempting to escape.

Saghatelyan was also charged with carrying a factory-made knife, classified as a civilian cold weapon.

The ruling was appealed by Saghatelyan's defense attorney to the Criminal Court of Appeal on December 10, 2008, but it was rejected, and the Yerevan Criminal Court's decision was upheld. On March 10, 2009, the Supreme Court of Armenia left the cassation appeal filed by the defense unexamined.

On September 20, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights, in the case of "Musheg Saghatelyan v. Armenia" (Application No. 23086/08), ruled that there had been violations of several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to the prohibition of torture, liberty and security, fair trial, and the right to freedom of assembly and association.

The ECHR decision came into force on December 20, 2018.

Based on the aforementioned, Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan has submitted a cassation appeal, requesting the annulment of the decisions made by three courts of Armenia regarding Musheg Saghatelyan between 2008 and 2009, and to refer the case to the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction for new proceedings.