MEN INDICTED OVER ASSAULT ON OPPOSITIONISTS
Irina Hovannisian
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25.02.2010
Two men will go on trial soon for their alleged role in an attack
on young opposition activists that campaigned for the opposition
candidate in a recent parliamentary by-election in Yerevan.
The more than a dozen young members of the opposition Armenian National
Congress (HAK) were beaten up by a larger group of men on December
27 as they urged residents of a central Yerevan constituency to vote
for Nikol Pashinian, a jailed opposition leader, in the January
10 ballot. Five of them suffered serious injuries and required
hospitalization.
The HAK blamed the attack on Pashinian’s main government rival,
Ara Simonian, and the local chapter of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK). Both Simonian and the HHK denied any involvement.
The Armenian police said on Thursday that they have charged two
local residents, Vahan Nadaghian and David Simonian, with provoking
the incident and will send the criminal case to a court in the coming
days. A police spokesman told RFE/RL that the two government loyalists
have been charged under Criminal Code articles that carry fines and
up to two months’ imprisonment.
HAK representatives shrugged off the indictments, saying that Nadaghian
and Simonian should have been facing more serious accusations. They
also said that the police have failed to identify other attackers.
According to Armen Khachatrian, the HAK’s top legal counsel, the
lawyers of the injured opposition youths will therefore demand that
the police launch a new and "full-fledged" investigation into the
incident. Khachatrian also claimed that the indicted men coordinated
the alleged vote rigging and intimidation of opposition proxies in
two polling stations on election day.
Official vote results gave victory to the pro-government candidate.
Pashinian and the HAK refused to concede defeat, alleging widespread
fraud.
The election was also criticized by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. The
Armenian authorities insisted, however, that it was largely democratic.