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Armenian prosecutors will soon file another extradition request with Russian authorities for two former high-ranking officials accused of a high-profile cover-up of the deadly 2008 crackdown on protesters.
The two former officials—former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan, who was the Armenian government’s representative before the European Court of Human Rights at the time, and Vahagn Harutyunyan, the top investigator in charge of the March 1 task force—have been living in Russia. Russian authorities previously rejected an extradition request from Armenia, Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan said on Tuesday.
“In the March 1 case, Gevorg Kostanyan and the former head of the investigative group, Vahagn Harutyunyan, are accused of abusing their official positions to falsify evidence and distort the investigation,” Vardapetyan said.
“We are working with Russia within the framework of a multilateral treaty; at the moment, this is the Chisinau Convention. Currently, we do not have consent from the Russian side regarding the extradition of these individuals. The Prosecutor General’s Office will soon send another extradition request to Russia, asking them to reconsider the previously rejected extradition,” she added.
Vardapetyan also clarified that not only in the March 1 case, but also in some other criminal proceedings, there are individuals who are wanted, are in Russia, and hold Russian citizenship. Russia does not extradite its own citizens, just as, for example, Armenia does not extradite its citizens, she stressed.
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.