Criminal prosecution in the “March 1” case against the former commander of the Police forces

The criminal prosecution was initiated under part 2 of Article 376 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003: “negligent attitude towards the service, which carelessly caused serious consequences”.

According to the report, the criminal proceedings revealed that Grigoryan, as a commander, “ignoring the fact that there are no necessary legal acts regarding the procedure for the use of special measures by the RA police forces in 2008, as a result of his careless attitude towards the service, he did not take measures to provide his units with suitable and non-expired weapons, with special measures, to organize their safe and correct operation.”

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, on March 1, 2008, during the events that took place in the areas adjacent to the intersection of Paronyan, Surb Grigor Lusavorich, Leo Streets and Mashtots Avenue in Yerevan, Grigoryan “directly, as well as through his subordinate commanders, ordered the servicemen of the RA Police Forces to fire at the protesters from the KS-23 special carbines the Cheryomukha-7 type intended for use in closed areas” tear gas grenades”.

“Without warning, expired, unsuitable for use and special means subject to destruction were illegally used, including “Cheryomukha-7” type tear gas grenades intended for use in closed areas were fired at the protesters from “KS-23″ special carbines, as a result of which three people from the participants of the demonstration died, two people were seriously injured, and one person was moderately injured,” the Prosecutor’s Office claims.

The European Court of Human Rights, in its ruling published 17 years after the events of March 1, recorded that in the case of most of the ten victims of the bloody events, Armenia violated their right to life. On the 18th anniversary of “March 1”, no one has yet been held accountable for the murders, although Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated more than once that the case has, in fact, been fully revealed. In particular, during the campaign in mid-May of this year, the Prime Minister announced that “March 1″ is 100 percent and all the details revealed, and Robert Kocharyan should sit down.”

The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, and his three high-ranking subordinates were acquitted five years ago in the “March 1” case, the Constitutional Court recognized the article against them as unconstitutional. However, in 2024, the case was reopened under the article of abuse of power and abuse of power. The examination has been delayed for two years.