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The prosecution will soon submit an amended indictment of former President Robert Kocharyan and several other high-ranking former officials in his administration to court amid the ongoing investigation into the 2008 post-election unrest, Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan said on November 18.
Vardapetyan, along with Anti-Corruption Committee Chairman Artur Nahapetyan and other officials, delivered remarks at a public discussion in parliament regarding the March 1 case.
Nahapetyan reiterated that a large-scale, comprehensive investigation into the March 1 case is ongoing.
He said that the criminal case, covering 600 volumes of materials, has been under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Corruption Committee since 2021. A joint task force comprising 24 investigators was set up in 2025.
Nahapetyan stated that, so far, the investigation has uncovered falsified materials in the internal review and several directed false testimonies provided by police officers, intended to conceal the involvement of the armed forces. The investigation also revealed that disinformation had been released to the public.
“The investigation includes extensive evidentiary and procedural actions, including the examination of newly discovered cartridges, bullets, and weapons,” Nahapetyan emphasized.
The March 1 case is a criminal investigation into the deadly post-election unrest in Yerevan in 2008. Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan was rallying with his supporters in Yerevan against what he described as rigged elections that named Serzh Sargsyan president-elect and successor of Robert Kocharyan.
Ten people, including two police officers, were killed during mass disturbances and clashes between demonstrators and security forces on March 1, 2008. Kocharyan’s administration faced accusations of violently dispersing the demonstration using the military.
Kocharyan, along with several other high-ranking officials—including incumbent Member of Parliament Armen Gevorgyan, who was a high-ranking official in the Kocharyan administration in 2008; incumbent Member of Parliament Seyran Ohanyan, who was Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 2008; and retired General Yuri Khachaturov, who served as deputy minister of defense in 2008—faced charges of overthrowing the constitutional order. They all denied the accusations. A constitutional court ruled in 2021 that the criminal charges were unconstitutional, and the case against them was dismissed.
Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan announced that new charges will be submitted to court soon.
She said that on October 11, 2024, decisions were made to change the legal assessment of the acts attributed to Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Yuri Khachaturov, and Armen Gevorgyan under the former Article 300.1, and to bring new charges under Article 441, Part 2/5 of the new Criminal Code.
The charges pertain to abuse of power resulting in severe consequences and carry a punishment of four to eight years in prison.
“The court granted the public prosecutor time to draft and submit the aforementioned decisions in compliance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code. The amended charges will be presented to the court in the near future,” she said.
Earlier this year, the General Prosecution filed a motion with the Anti-Corruption Court seeking to confiscate the 670 million drams in compensation paid to the victims of the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan from former President Robert Kocharyan and other former high-ranking officials who held office during the events. The court has launched proceedings and is examining the motion. The 670 million in assets have been frozen until the verdict.
The government paid a total of 670 million drams in compensation to the victims of the violence in 2019.
Vardapetyan also announced that the criminal investigation into the actions of Sasha Afyan, a retired police general who served as Deputy Chief of Police in 2008, has been reopened.
He is accused of the unlawful use of force against demonstrators by abusing his authority.
In 2020, investigators had suspended the criminal prosecution, citing the statute of limitations. However, the Prosecutor-General concluded that those decisions were neither legal nor justified. According to her, the December 23, 2023 decision of the Court of Cassation, along with precedents from the European Court of Human Rights, established that the statute of limitations cannot be applied to acts of torture or similar ill-treatment.
Afyan’s alleged actions in 2008—violent abuse of power—amount to ill-treatment, Vardapetyan said.