Interfax, Russia
Russia & CIS General Newswire
February 8, 2008 Friday 10:35 PM MSK

Armenian presidential candidate Ter-Petrosian’s supporters beaten up
in Yerevan

YEREVAN Feb 8

Three campaign staff of Armenian presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian have been beaten violently, Ter-Petrosian’s campaign
told Interfax on Friday.

Police confirmed to Interfax the fact of the attack without giving
details of the incident, which happened in one of Yerevan’s bedroom
communities on Thursday evening.

"Three young people from Ter-Petrosian’s territorial campaign staff
were posting leaflets announcing the presidential candidate’s rally
scheduled for February 9 on Freedom Square when a car pulled up, four
men got out and started beating the young men," the campaign staff
said.

Among the assailants was "a member of the Nor-Nork [Yerevan district]
office of the Republican Party presidential candidate’s campaign
staff," it said.

Interfax could not immediately obtain confirmation of the report from
other sources.

The young men were taken to the hospital, one of them, Ovanes
Grigorian, 19, in serious condition.

Meanwhile, Mkrtych Minasian, a member of the Republican Party’s
parliamentary faction, said at a press conference in parliament that
"the Republican Party of Armenia condemns the attack on supporters of
first President Levon Ter-Petrosian, which happened in that community
yesterday."

"It has been assumed that the mater involves the chief of one of the
offices [of the Republican Party’s campaign staff]. In any case, I
believe beating and disorderly conduct are not political categories,
and whoever caused this, they need to be brought to justice,"
Minasian said.

A criminal case has been opened into the incident.

The police press service told Interfax that the victims will be
invited to police on Saturday to confront and identify the suspected
attackers.