The former head of the police of Armenia has been posthumously charged in the "March 1 case".

The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has initiated posthumous criminal prosecution against the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the chief of police of the country, Aik Arutyunyan, in connection with the events of March 2008, when a mass protest in Yerevan was dispersed.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", after the change of power in Armenia in 2018, the investigation into the case of the dispersal of demonstrators in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, was intensified. Charges were brought against several high-ranking officials, including the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Yuri Khachaturov, and Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan. In September 2019, charges were brought against the former head of the police of Armenia, Alik Sargsyan: the investigation stated that after his appointment as head of police in May 2008, Sargsyan falsified documents related to the March events together with his predecessor Aik Arutyunyan. The former Minister of Internal Affairs and Chief of Police of Armenia, Aik Arutyunyan, was a witness in the "March 1 case"; the day before the charges were brought against Sargsyan, on September 24, 2019, he was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at his dacha, 45 kilometers from Yerevan.

Aik Arutyunyan, who died in 2019, has been posthumously charged in the "March 1 case", the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia reported today.

The decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Arutyunyan was made back in April and was handed to his widow. Arutyunyan's wife opposed the termination of the case due to the death of the accused, writes Armenia Today.

According to the investigation, Arutyunyan, together with other high-ranking police officials, organized the dispersal of a peaceful protest on Freedom Square in Yerevan on March 1, 2008, using violence and special means, including tear gas "Cheremukha-7" and sound grenades "Zarya". According to another charge, Arutyunyan did not coordinate with the government the procedure for using these special means. The Prosecutor General's Office sent the case materials to the Anti-Corruption Committee, demanding the completion of the preliminary investigation with an indictment, notes "Sputnik Armenia".

Aik Arutyunyan headed the police of Armenia from 2003 to 2008. In September 2024, his death was investigated under the article on incitement to suicide (part 1 of article 110 of the Criminal Code of Armenia). The results of this investigation have not been made public.

Shortly before his death, Arutyunyan was questioned as a witness in the "March 1 case", said Marina Ogandzhanyan, a representative of the special investigative service at that time. "We are not providing any further details for now," "Armenpress" quoted her words.