Issues of Statute of Limitations Arise in March 1 Case, Says Vardapetyan

Issues related to the statute of limitations will arise in the March 1 case. This was announced by the Chief Prosecutor of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, in the National Assembly.

“The Court of Cassation has applied to the Constitutional Court based on the Chief Prosecutor's complaint. We have asked the Court of Cassation to consider whether the prosecuting authority will be granted the procedural opportunity to change the qualification. The prior qualification, which was recognized as unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, does not allow us to requalify the act under another article. As for the individuals involved in intermediate judicial proceedings, of course, the requalification has taken place, but there is no such mechanism at the stage of judicial review. You know that the Chief Prosecutor's complaint was not considered by the Constitutional Court, stating that you are not a subject and cannot appeal. Now we are waiting to see what position the Constitutional Court will take regarding the request of the Court of Cassation to understand whether we can requalify the act related to three former officials and bring the crime related to the constitutional order into the realm of official crimes,” she said.

According to her, around 30 charges related to criminal prosecutions against individuals involved in the March 1 events have been annulled, with acquittal decisions rendered, and one partial acquittal regarding one individual. “Out of the 30 cases, an appeal has been submitted by the Chief Prosecutor's Office in 16 cases,” Vardapetyan noted.

The proceedings concerning the abuse of official powers by an investigator of the investigative group were separated from the case and sent to the court with an indictment on August 12, 2023. “At this moment, the case is in court; it is in the examination phase. It was sent to the court because the individual did not agree to the discontinuation of prosecution on non-acquitting grounds,” said the Chief Prosecutor.

Anna Vardapetyan stated that, yes, the issue of the statute of limitations will arise in the case of March 1. “The difference here is between the discontinuation of prosecution on acquitting and non-acquitting grounds. We will provide a proper legal assessment and, why not, also discuss issues related to compensation, because in the case of discontinuation of proceedings on non-acquitting grounds, claims can be brought against the individual who caused the consequences through certain other procedures; in other words, this legally provides certain opportunities for victims,” Vardapetyan emphasized.