I Sustained Injuries from the Second or Third Explosion: Alen Simonyan

I was on the left side of Baghramyan Avenue, in front of the barbed wire. There was a helmet on the barbed wire that I was trying to take, but one of the police officers struck my hand. At that moment, an explosion occurred. This means that at that time, MP Nikol Pashinyan had announced that he wanted to go to his workplace, after which explosions were heard. I was injured from the second or third explosion.

This was stated by the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, in the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction. Previously, it was reported that Alen Simonyan is being interrogated as a victim in the case of Levan Yeranosyan. Yeranosyan has been charged with intentionally committing actions that clearly exceeded his powers and caused significant harm to the rights and legal interests of citizens, as well as carelessly causing serious consequences.

Simonyan recalled that on April 16, 2018, they were peacefully protesting against the re-election of Serzh Sargsyan for a third term. He stated that after the explosion, he saw a vehicle of the “Niva” make and leaned against it to try to regain his breath. Simonyan noted that after the explosion, his consciousness was in a 'bad state' and he did not understand what was happening.

Yeranosyan's lawyer, Tigran Safaryan, stated that by reviewing videos of the incidents, it becomes clear that a group of participants in the gathering pushed the 'Niva' vehicle toward the police units before the explosions. According to him, there are numerous instances where violence against police officers is evident before the explosions. The defense has requested the publication of Simonyan's pre-trial testimony, stating that there are significant contradictions between the testimony given during the investigation and the one provided today.

The judge published Simonyan's pre-trial testimony. Other victims were not present at the session besides Simonyan. The hearing was adjourned. Judge Harutyun Manukyan noted that if the other notified victims do not appear at the next session, they will be summoned forcibly.