Author: Սաթենիկ Ավետիսյան

Two of the defendants arrested in connection with the events of October 20 in Gyumri—Ruben Mkhitaryan, a lawyer and the coordinator of the “Mer Dzevov” (Our Way) movement in Gyumri, and Narek Ghukasyan, the grandson of Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan’s brother—will be released.

RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan presented details regarding the charges filed against the former Deputy Chief of Police, Sasha Afyan, in the “March 1” case.

RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan announced in the National Assembly that the Prosecutor General’s Office intends to send a request to the Russian Federation for the extradition of former Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan and Vahagn Harutyunyan, the former head of the investigative group for the “March 1” case.
According to her, the former officials are accused of abuse of official authority, falsification of evidence, and distorting the investigation of the case following March 1, 2008. They are currently located in Russian territory. The Prosecutor General stated that the issue of extradition is being discussed within the framework of multilateral international agreements, but Armenia has not yet received the Russian side’s consent regarding the extradition of these citizens.
Anna Vardapetyan added that the refusal to extradite some defendants is related to citizenship: the Russian Federation does not extradite its own citizens. According to her, in such situations, the possibility of in absentia judicial proceedings is foreseen, which allows for the defendants to be tried regardless of their location.
Kostanyan became a defendant in the “March 1” case on November 24, 2019, and was declared wanted when he failed to appear before the Special Investigation Service (SIS). Detention was chosen as his pre-trial measure.