Former Deputy Head of the Police Sasha Afyan again has a status of accused under the case of March 1: on August 11, 2025, Anna Vardapetyan, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia overturned the decision on termination of the criminal proceedings against Sasha Afyan, former Deputy Head of the Police rendered on January 30, 2020. Appeals of the victims under the criminal case of March 1 underlay this decision.

Let us remind that under the criminal proceeding it was substantiated that Sasha Afyan, who had been appointed to the position of the Deputy Head of the Police adjacent to the Government, based on the order of Robert Kocharyan, second President of the Republic of Armenia dated February 12, 2008,   on March 1, 2008, exceeding his official powers, in complicity with other persons, organized actions by various police departments, combined with the use of violence and special means, to disperse peaceful demonstrators holding a sit-in in Freedom Square in Yerevan, and then to exclude their groupings, possible demonstrations and gatherings in the central parts of the city, and those actions caused significant damage to the rights and legitimate interests of individuals, the legitimate interests of society and the state.

On October 26, 2019, charges were brought against Sasha Afyan under part 2 of article 38-309 of the Criminal Code adopted on 18.04.2003. The criminal proceedings against the latter was terminated on January 30, 2020, due to the statute of limitation.

On July 28, 2025, appeals of two victims under the criminal proceeding were received in the Prosecutor General’s Office. The complainants stated that they didn’t receive the decision on termination of the criminal proceeding against Sasha Afyan and just recently learned from the articles published on the Internet, that the criminal proceeding against Sasha Afyan has been terminated since 2020, thus they want to appeal that decision and they are asking to review it.

Examining the appeals of the victims and reviewing the materials of criminal proceedings № 62202608, the RA Prosecutor General  recorded that the decision of the investigator conducting the proceedings on termination of the criminal proceeding initiated under part 2 of article 38-309 of the Criminal Code adopted on 18.04.2003 against Sasha Afyan dated January 30, 2020 must be overturned, taking into consideration the fact that the application of the statute of limitation is prohibited with regard to the act incriminated to Sasha Afyan (including the decision  of the Court of Cassation under Grisha Virabyan’s case).

The Prosecutor General, considered citizen’s appeals ex jure submitted within the term provided for by the law, based on the legal positions expressed in the decision of the Court of Cassation under criminal case № YeD/0273/01/19 dated November 26, 2021, among other legal norms, and overturned the decision of the investigator dated January 30, 2020.

Notice:  A person charged with any crime shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty in the manner prescribed by the RA Criminal Procedure Code—by the judgment came into legal force.