PROSECUTION DEMANDS 8-YEAR IMPRISONMENT FOR POLITICAL PRISONER NIKOL PASHINYAN

Tert.am
11:02 ~U 23.12.09

The second video evidence presented by Nikol Pashinyan’s attorneys
in court depicted the events taking place near Myasnikyan’s statue
on March 1, 2008, which began with Stepan Demirjyan and political
prisoner Sasun Mikayelyan addressing the crowd and asking demonstrators
to stay calm.

Further in the video, one could see police forces accumulating, the
movement of armed masked officers and shots made by armed individuals
aimed directly at the people. Even though the clips with the shootings
were quite clearly visible, the prosecutor, after watching the scene
a few times, wasn’t convinced that the shootings were directed at
civilians.

Afterwards, a clip from events on the afternoon of March 1 was
shown in which a civilian had found bottles of flammable liquid in
a police vehicle and subsequently advised people to immediately keep
everyone informed if other such bottles are found. After this video
was examined, the attorneys motioned to include it as evidence in
the criminal case.

After the conclusion of this stage of the case (the defense
having presented its evidence), the judge declared the examination
concluded and the case would move forward to the following stage:
the presentation of arguments. There was about 10 minutes left till
the end of the work day, and the judge was inclined to have the
trial continue the following day, when suddenly prosecutor Harutyun
Harutyunyan said that they were prepared for the debate stage. After
which Pashinyan announced that other than being the defendant in this
case, he’s also a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections,
and he still needs to meet with his confidants.

However, the judge allowed the prosecution to read its address,
which Harutyunyan began to do. It was obvious that the speech had
been prepared prior to the examination of evidence. Furthermore,
this same lengthy speech was read during the well-known "Case of 7"
political prisoners’ proceedings, albeit with the defense’s name
changed. The speech took nearly 2 hours, in which the prosecution
demanded Nikol Pashinyan be imprisoned for 8 years.

The next court date is set for December 26 at 12 pm.