15:54, 5 June 2019

Armenia adopts law on compensation for victims of March 2008 events

People who disagreed with the outcomes of the presidential election came into the streets in Yerevan on March 1, 2008. Photo: Serouj, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3653411

On 4 June, the Armenian MPs have approved the bill prescribing to pay compensations to those who suffered during the dispersal of demonstrators on March 1-2, 2008. The amount of compensation will be defined by the government.

The clashes of demonstrators with policemen broke out on March 1 and 2, 2008, in Yerevan, after the dispersal of the oppositional rally, which disagreed with the outcomes of the presidential election, when Serzh Sargsyan was elected. 10 people perished in clashes, and over 250 others were injured.

Amendments were made in the bill, according to which the law enforcers who fell victim to clashes and were prosecuted, will receive no compensations. They will be paid to casualties' successors and those who suffered moderate or serious health damage.

Let us remind you that criminal proceedings within the "March 1 case" were initiated only after Nikol Pashinyan came to power, who himself had been sentenced to seven years in prison as a figurant of the riot case, and was released in May 2011 under an amnesty. With Pashinyan coming to power, a number of high-ranking officials, including the second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, were charged for suppressing the protests.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 5, 2019 at 04:06 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.