YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, ARMENPRESS. Sasun Khachatryan, Head of the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, assures that the investigative team, dealing with the 2008 March 1 case, has no constraint and based on the existing data it acts on involving new persons, reports Armenpress.

The SIS chief told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that he doesn’t want to release more detailed information about the circumstances of the case, adding that there will be an open trial, and the public will be convinced that the investigation will be carried out with the whole volume.

Commenting on the highly confidential N0038 order, the SIS chief said it contains problematic formulations which also are being examined. “The fact that this order has been signed on February 23 is very important, since it’s the time when there was no data that protests would occur on March 1, in other words, it was not understandable why the Army should be involved in that processes”, he said.

He noted that it would be wrong to say that the Army didn’t intervene in the domestic political processes during that time. “Another important fact is that there were many speculations that the situation escalated in the border that time…and in such tense situation the army was brought from the border and deployed near Yerevan which couldn’t bring any good result, and as we saw the March 1 was the vivid evidence of this”, Sasun Khachatryan said.

As for the statements of attorneys of 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, according to which the troops were in the state of barrack, and the order was signed for not engaging the Army in further processes, the SIS head said the defending side would like to be so.  

Commenting on the statements according to which they said during the interview with the Public TV’s Orakargic Durs program that the SIS chief has violated the presumption of innocence, he said: “I cannot comment on their opinions, I haven’t violated the presumption of innocence. They are lawyers, express opinions as they have that right. The statements that I exert pressure on court are just ridiculous. Only the official, who appoints judges, can have an influence on the judge”. Sasun Khachatryan reminded that the Special Investigation Service is an apolitical structure.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan