Interfax, Russia
Jan 24 2009

Armenian president pardons 16 people convicted for March 1, 2008
unrest in Yerevan

YEREVAN Jan 24

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has issued a decree pardoning 16
people convicted of involvement in mass unrest that took place in
Yerevan on March 1, 2008.

"Sixteen convicts serving sentences ranging from two to three years
have been pardoned" in line with Sargsyan’s decree of January 24, the
presidential press service told Interfax on Saturday.

The people were found guilty of participating in mass unrest,
illegally carrying, acquiring, using, transporting, or selling weapons
and ammunition, and resisting police on March 1, 2008, it said.

Sargsyan pardoned these people, "taking into account the convicts’
pleas addressed to the president, the absence of past criminal
records, family circumstances, and health status," he said.

The president had earlier pardoned 12 other people found guilty of the
same crimes.

Following presidential elections on February 19, 2008, Armenian
opposition activists led by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who
again aspired to the presidency, refused to recognize the official
results of the elections and organized mass protests. On March 1,
2008, these protests grew into clashes with police, which left ten
people dead and more than 250 injured.

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