Former official detained in March 1 case

PanARMENIAN.Net - A former official has been detained within the framework of the criminal case concerning the March 1 events.

According to factual data obtained in the criminal proceedings, it has been established that H.T. (Hovhannes Tamamyan, editor’s note), then First Deputy Head of the Main Criminal Investigation Department of the Armenian Police, without any justification, instructed police officers in the early morning of March 1, 2008, to beat E.A., a participant in the rally held at Yerevan’s Freedom Square, and to take him to the Police Main Department for Combating Organized Crime, the Investigative Committee reported.

“Immediately thereafter, police officers carried out actions that clearly did not stem from their official powers and fell outside their scope.

In particular, they used violence against E.A., striking various parts of his body multiple times with their hands and feet, causing serious, life-threatening injuries,” the statement said.

Based on the factual evidence obtained during the investigation, public criminal prosecution has been initiated against H.T., First Deputy Head of the Main Criminal Investigation Department of the Armenian Police, under Part 3 of Article 38-309 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003 (incitement to exceed official authority).

On February 25, 2026, H.T. was detained in order to be brought before a court.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

On February 12, it became known that charges had also been brought in the March 1 case against Valeri Osipyan and Robert Melkonyan (at the time, Melkonyan was commander of the Patrol Service Regiment, and Valeri Osipyan was his deputy).

In August 2025, it was reported that former Deputy Chief of Police Sasha Afyan had again been granted the status of accused in the March 1 case.