Charges Filed Against 19 Individuals in Incident in Syunik Province

Charges have been filed against 19 individuals in relation to an incident that occurred in Syunik Province. This information was announced by the Investigative Committee.

The statement from the Investigative Committee is presented below:

As a result of extensive investigative and procedural actions carried out by the main department for the investigation of particularly significant cases of the RA Investigative Committee, a number of circumstances surrounding acts of hooliganism and violence against representatives of power that occurred during the visit of the Prime Minister of the RA to Syunik Province on April 21, 2021, have been clarified.

According to the factual data obtained during the investigation, on April 21, 2021, the head of the Meghri community, upon learning about the Prime Minister's visit to the towns of Meghri and Agarak in Syunik Province, organized and led a group of municipal employees, employees of several companies belonging to him and his close associates, and some residents of Meghri and Agarak communities to commit hooliganistic acts with the intent to grossly violate public order.

In particular, when the Prime Minister attempted to hold meetings and interact with the residents of these towns, which was accompanied by live media coverage, the head of the Meghri community coordinated the actions of those committing hooliganism, resulting in the aforementioned individuals displaying blatant disrespect and open contempt towards their surroundings, publicly uttering insults, and obstructing the movement of the Prime Minister and those accompanying him while attempting to meet with the population, causing panic and scuffles.

During this period, those committing hooliganism did not comply with the legal requirements of law enforcement officers and instead showed resistance, pushing, pulling, and striking them.

On the same day, the deputy head of Goris community, aware of the Prime Minister's visit to the towns of Meghri and Agarak, organized and led hooliganistic acts with the participation of a group of individuals with the intent to grossly violate public order, during which, while the Prime Minister's motorcade was in motion, they displayed open disrespect towards their surroundings, publicly uttering insults, obstructing traffic on the highway, and throwing eggs at the motorcade.

Based on the sufficient combination of evidence obtained, charges have been filed against 19 individuals, of whom 9 are under Article 258, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code, and 10 under Part 1 of Article 258. Applications have been submitted to the court to choose detention as a preventive measure for 8 of the accused. The pre-investigation continues.