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The head of the Nor Nork administrative district of Yerevan, Tigran Ter-Margaryan, is among the 4 individuals facing criminal charges in connection with the brawl at the district headquarters, law enforcement sources told Armenpress.
The specific charges filed against Ter-Margaryan were not immediately available.
Investigators earlier said that 4 persons have been charged with assault in connection with the incident.
Activist Artur Chakhoyan, who was involved in the fistfight and beaten, said he’s been charged with hooliganism.
Yerevan city councillor Mesrop Manukyan from the Mother Armenia faction is also under criminal investigation. He is also charged with hooliganism.
A total of six persons were arrested after the brawl on April 30 which was filmed by a media outlet.
Chakhoyan and city councillor Mesrop Manukyan have been critical of the city authorities. Notably, they strongly criticized the municipal authorities for what they described as mismanaging the construction of a kindergarten. Afterwards, they claim, the Nor Nork district chief insulted and threatened them.
Nor Nork district administration staffers and Arthur Chakhoyan, a local activist and critic of Yerevan authorities, were involved in a fistfight afterwards. The incident took place at the district administration office when Chakhoyan was demanding a meeting with the district chief. The footage of the incident shows Nor Nork district chief Tigran Ter-Margaryan, among others, punching Chakhoyan.
Yerevan City Hall earlier released a statement condemning the incident. It said that any kind of violence is unacceptable.
The Nor Nork district administration officials accused Chakhoyan of insults, provocation and defamation. The activist denied this. In the footage of the incident, he told a district staffer “I haven’t insulted anyone.”
“You are not a good guy,” a district administration staffer told the activist when he was trying to meet with the district chief at his office. “You are the one who is not a good guy,” he responded. An unidentified man is then seen pushing Chakhoyan, which then escalated the situation into a fistfight. The activist was hospitalized.