Charges Filed Against Valery Osipyan and Another in the March 1 Case

Within the framework of the criminal proceedings of the March 1 case, criminal charges have been brought against two former officials. This information was provided to Auroranews by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

“Specifically, charges have been filed against the then-commander of the patrol service of the Yerevan city police and his deputy for organizing the actions to disperse peaceful protesters who held a sit-in at Liberty Square using violence and special measures on March 1, 2008,” the committee confirmed.

The charges pertain to former Deputy Chief of Police of Yerevan Robert Melkonyan and former Chief of Police of Armenia Valery Osipyan.

It should be noted that on September 18, the European Court of Human Rights published its ruling in the case of “Farmanyan v. Armenia” regarding the nine victims of March 1, noting a number of violations by the Republic of Armenia. According to the unanimous decision of the court, aside from Samvel Harutyunyan and Zakhar Hovhannisyan, it was established that the actions of the state led to the violation of the right to life for all other victims.

Specifically, it has been recorded that the authorities of Armenia did not conduct an effective and complete investigation into the circumstances of the victims' deaths. The ruling also noted a violation of Article 38 of the European Convention, which relates to the state's obligation to cooperate with the court.

The Prime Minister stated that the European Court of Human Rights has recorded the obvious, asserting that, in fact, the March 1 case has been revealed. “I hope that the ECHR ruling will serve as a new impetus and signal for our law enforcement to eventually find a way for effective prosecution, and also to ensure that none of the perpetrators of the March 1 crimes escape genuine responsibility, not just formal,” the Prime Minister said.

High-ranking officials of Armenia are implicated as the main defendants in the March 1 case, each of whom, according to the prosecution, played a role in the tragic events that occurred. They include Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Yuri Khachaturov, and Armen Gevorgyan.