On March 6, 2026, the prosecutor along with an approved indictment submitted to the court the files of criminal proceedings against the persons accused of the March 1 case — Robert Melkonyan, who held the position of the Commander of the Patrol Regiment of the Yerevan City Department of the RA Policein 2008; his deputy Valeriy Osipyan and Karen Movsisyan, who served as a company commander in the same regiment.

It should be recalled that within the criminal proceedings pending at the Anti-Corruption Committee in connection with the events that took place in Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008, it was established that due to violations recorded during the preparation and conduct of the regular presidential election of the Republic of Armenia held on February 19, 2008, citizens began organizing and holding peaceful assemblies guaranteed by the Constitution starting from February 20, 2008, including in Freedom Square.

In order to obstruct the peaceful protest taking place in Freedom Square and the holding of assemblies in the square, at around 06:30 a.m. on March 1, 2008, officers of the Police of the Republic of Armenia — including officers of the Patrol Service Regiment of the Yerevan City Police Department — acting pursuant to an obviously unlawful order of the Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia, dispersed the sit-in. The operation was organized and carried out by the regiment’s commander Robert Melkonyan, his deputy Valeriy Osipyan, the company commanders of the Patrol Service Regiment, as well as by the Deputy Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia Sasha Afyan. Despite the clear absence of legal grounds for the use of physical force and special means as provided by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On the Police,” the police officers exceeded the limits of their authority and, through the unlawful use of violence and special means, dispersed the sit-in, forcibly removing hundreds of peaceful demonstrators from Freedom Square, including those who were sleeping in tents set up there overnight.

For organizing the allegedly criminal act of exceeding official powers, accompanied by the use of violence and special means by the officers of the subordinate unit, committed in complicity with other officials of the Police, in dispersing the peaceful demonstrators holding a sit-in at Freedom Square, the prosecutor has initiated public criminal prosecution against Robert Melkonyan, who in 2008 held the position of commander of the Patrol Service Regiment of the Yerevan City Police Department of the RA Police, his deputy Valeriy Osipyan, and Karen Movsisyan, who held the position of company commander of the same regiment, under Part 2 of Article 38-309 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003.

On March 6, 2026, the prosecutor, along with an approved indictment, submitted to the court the files of the criminal proceedings in the March 1 case against the accused persons: who held the position of the Commander of the Patrol Regiment of the Yerevan City Department of the RA Policein 2008; his deputy Valeriy Osipyan and Karen Movsisyan, who served as a company commander in the same regiment.

It should be recalled that on March 3, 2026, the prosecutor, along with an approved indictment, submitted to the court the files of the criminal proceedings in the March 1 case against another accused: Hovhannes Tamamyan, who held the position of First Deputy Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of the RA Police. Under the criminal proceedings pending at the Investigative Committee, it was established that Hovhannes Tamamyan, without any justification, in the early morning of March 1, 2008, ordered RA Police officers to beat E.A., a participant in the rally held at Freedom Square, and to transfer him to the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime of the RA.

Օn August 11, 2025, Anna Vardapetyan, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, revoked the decision of January 30, 2020 regarding the termination the criminal prosecution against the former Deputy Chief of Police Sasha Afyan. Public criminal prosecution had been initiated against Sasha Afyan under Part 2 of Article 38-309 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003. The files of the criminal proceedings against Sasha Afyan, along with an approved indictment, were submitted to court on January 9, 2026.

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.