On October 30 the Investigative Department of the Police of Center community
of Yerevan introduced charges to some participants of the march of October 23,
including Shogher Matevosian, the Chief Editor of “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun” newspaper,
and Nikol Pashinian, the head of “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily. The journalists
are charged with an offence provided for by part 1 of Article 316 of the RA
Criminal Code (“Violence against power representative”). As it has been reported,
in the evening of October 23 in Yerevan the police cracked down on march participants,
who disseminated leaflets and informed with loudspeaker the citizens about the
opposition rally, scheduled for October 26. The representatives of law enforcement
bodies demanded that loudspeaker be not used and then applied force and tear
gas. As a result of the actions of the police the correspondent of “Chorrord
Ishkhanutiun” Gohar Vezirian and some other march participants were injured.
Over a dozen of march participants were detained and taken to the Police of
Center community of Yerevan, including Shogher Matevosian and Nikol Pashinian.
The detained left the police only in the early morning of October 24. According
to the press release of the RA Police, due to public disorder and resistance
(as a result of which “four police officers with corporal injuries needed medical
assistance”) criminal proceedings were instituted. The document, however, failed
to dwell on the march participants injured and the application of special means
(see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, October
19-25, 2007).
