Author: Babken Chilingarian

Schools reopen across Armenia, with not all school employees tested for coronavirus yet

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 15 2020

Author Nare Gevorgyan

Schools reopened across Armenia on Tuesday after a two-week delay, however as it was the case one month ago, teachers and parents are facing uncertainty, hoping that at least within the next week they will figure out what to do.

Apart from the mandatory rule to wear face masks, repeatedly disinfect hands and practice social distancing, today teachers and parents are facing another problem concerning the testing of school staffs, which, as it turns out, has not been properly organized.

Although during the nationwide parent-teacher meeting on 26 August, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan assured that before the launch of the academic year all teachers would be tested for coronavirus, it is still up in the air.

Panorama.am has learned that teachers from not all schools under the control of the Gegharkunik Regional Administration have undergone testing, which has caused concerns among many parents, who are afraid that one or more teachers may be infected and pass the virus to their children.

In response to Panorama.am’s question why it has not been possible to test all teachers before the reopening of schools, Lusine Vardanyan, Head of the Health and Social Security Department of the Regional Administration, said the province has no laboratory and the test samples taken from people are sent to Yerevan, therefore, it has not been possible to test all school staffers.

However, she said that in the near future the province will have its own laboratory and experts are currently undergoing training to carry out the work on the ground.

“We need to take samples from 4,570 school employees, but we have still collected 1,263 samples. At the moment 5 teachers and 3 administrative employees are infected. We continue testing the others in all communities,” she added.

Asked whether in that case there are no risks that some of the teachers not tested yet may be carrying the virus and infect schoolchildren, Lusine Vardanyan said that schools are under strict control.

“Temperature checks are being conducted at schools, there are nurses in all schools, who examine the school employees on the ground. We are doing everything possible to rule out such cases, though there may be an infected teacher who has no symptoms. In any case, we are trying to carry out the sampling,” Vardanyan stated.

We also tried to understand why the fact that the provinces lack their own laboratories was not taken into account, giving rise to such a situation, but the Ministry of Health urged us to submit a written inquiry, while the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports said it was not clear yet whether they were to answer that question or the Ministry of Health.



RFE/RL Armenian Report – 09/07/2020

Babken Chilingarian 
                                        Monday, September 7, 2020
Indicted Ex-Speaker Allowed To Leave Armenia
        • Marine Khachatrian
RUSSIA -- Armenian parliament speaker Ara Babloyan gives a press conference in 
St. Petersburg, April 13, 2018
Former parliament speaker Ara Babloyan was allowed by a Yerevan court on Monday 
to temporarily leave Armenia despite standing trial on charges rejected by him 
as politically motivated.
Babloyan said he needs to travel to Belgium on a short trip related to his 
current work as head of Armenia’s largest children’s hospital.
“I’m glad that I received permission to leave because [the trip] is necessary 
not for me but our country, our people and those children who are treated at the 
Arabkir Medical Center,” he told reporters. He said he will return to the 
country on October 4, well before the next session of his trial slated for 
November 18.
Babloyan’s lawyer, Aram Vartevanian, said trial prosecutors did not object to 
the permission granted by the judge presiding over the trial.
In Vartevanian’s words, the judge had already allowed his client to travel to 
Switzerland earlier this year. The 72-year-old pediatric surgeon cancelled that 
trip because of the coronavirus pandemic and his hospital’s involvement in the 
Armenian authorities’ efforts to contain it, said the lawyer.
Babloyan and one of his former aides, Arsen Babayan, were charged last October 
with abusing their powers and forging documents to help Armenia’s former 
leadership install Hrayr Tovmasian as chairman of the Constitutional Court in 
March 2018. Babayan was arrested but freed on bail three weeks later.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS) indicted the two men as Tovmasian faced 
growing government pressure to resign. It claimed that the former Armenian 
parliament elected him court chairman in breach of the country’s constitution.
The SIS said that Babloyan illegally accepted and announced the resignation of 
Tovmasian’s predecessor, Gagik Harutiunian, before receiving a relevant letter 
from him. It said that Babayan, who was the deputy chief of the parliament staff 
at the time, backdated the letter to enable Tovmasian to head the Constitutional 
Court before the entry into force of sweeping amendments to the Armenian 
constitution.
The amendments introduced a six-year term in office for the head of Armenia’s 
highest court. Tovmasian, 49, became chief court justice under the previous 
constitution which allows him to hold the post until the age of 70.
Both defendants strongly deny the accusations. Babloyan, who served as 
parliament speaker from 2017-2018, claimed to be subjected to “crude political 
persecution” at the start of their trial in May. He accused the SIS of 
committing “pathetic and blatant violations” of the due process.
Toxic Alcohol Claims More Victims In Armenia
        • Susan Badalian
Armenia -- Homemade vodka sold on a roadside.
Health authorities continued to hospitalize people at the weekend as a result of 
Armenia’s worst-ever alcohol poisoning which has left 17 people dead and nearly 
30 others seriously ill.
According to the Ministry of Health, eight hospitalized people remained a 
critical condition on Monday. Some of them have lost the vision in their eyes, a 
ministry spokeswoman told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
The ministry reported mass intoxications and the first 11 deaths caused by them 
on September 1. Six more people died in the following days.
Most of the victims lived in Armavir, a small town 45 kilometers west of 
Yerevan. Law-enforcement authorities believe that they died after drinking 
bootleg vodka purchased from another local resident, Ashot Hovsepian. He was 
arrested on September 1.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee arrested two other people a few days later on 
suspicion of supplying Hovsepian with methanol, a highly toxic alcohol used for 
industrial purposes. According to the law-enforcement agency, Hovsepian diluted 
it with water before selling the poisonous drink to local residents.
All three arrested men deny any wrongdoing, saying that they thought they are 
buying and selling ethanol alcohol used in vodka production.
“Laboratory tests have determined that all Armavir victims had purchased the 
alcoholic beverage from the same place,” said Romela Abovian, a senior official 
from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It also emerged that the [intoxication] cases in Yerevan were also caused by 
methanol,” Abovian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Russian, Armenian Army Chiefs Meet Amid Joint Drills
Russia -- Top Russian and Armenian military officials meet in Moscow, September 
5, 2020.
Russia’s and Armenia’s top army generals met in Moscow over the weekend as 
troops from the two countries began a joint military exercise near the 
Armenian-Turkish border.
Lieutenant-General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the Armenian army’s General 
Staff, held talks with his Russian opposite number, General Valery Gerasimov, 
after attending the closing ceremony of the annual International Army Games 
organized by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Official Armenian and Russian sources said the two men discussed close military 
ties between their nations but gave very few details.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry cited Gerasimov as calling Armenia 
Russia’s “ally and key partner in the Transcaucasus.” For his part, Gasparian 
described Russia as his country’s “strategic ally” and stressed the “special 
significance” of Russian-Armenian relations for Yerevan.
According to the statement, he also thanked the Russian military for helping to 
contain the spread of the coronavirus among Armenian and Russian military 
personnel serving in Armenia. Moscow sent a team of Russian army medics and 
special equipment to the South Caucasus state for that purpose in April.
Later on Saturday, Russia’s Southern Military District announced the start of a 
fresh Russian-Armenian exercise held at two training grounds in northwestern 
Armenia. It said the drill will involve about a thousand soldiers of the Russian 
military base headquartered in Gyumri, 200 tanks, artillery systems and other 
military hardware as well as two dozen Russian and Armenian warplanes.
A statement released by Russia’s Southern Military District on Monday said 
Russian MiG-29 fighter jets engaged in imaginary dogfights with enemy aircraft 
and struck ground targets as part of defensive and offensive operations 
simulated by the two militaries. It said the jets, which are normally stationed 
in Yerevan, then landed at an airfield in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city 
located just 10 kilometers from the Turkish border.
The Armenian Defense Ministry did not issue any statements on the drill as of 
Monday afternoon.
Armenia -- Armenian and Russian troops hold a joint military exercise, April 12, 
2019.
Armenia hosts up to 5,000 Russian soldiers as part of its military alliance with 
Russia. Successive Armenian governments have regarded the Russian military 
presence as a crucial deterrent against Turkey’s possible military intervention 
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The likelihood of such intervention appears to have increased after deadly 
hostilities that broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July. Turkey 
blamed Armenia for the escalation and pledged to boost Turkish military aid to 
Azerbaijan.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on July 16 that the Armenians “will 
certainly pay for what they have done” to his country’s main regional ally. In 
what appears to be a related development, Turkish and Azerbaijani troops held 
last month joint two-week exercises in various parts of Azerbaijan.
The Armenian government responded by accusing Ankara of undercutting 
international efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict and posing a serious 
security threat to Armenia. Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security 
Council, said on August 2 that Yerevan counts on Moscow’s support in its efforts 
to counter that threat.
Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan clearly alluded to Turkey when he 
denounced the “expansion of some countries’ ambitions” in the South Caucasus in 
a speech delivered in Moscow last Friday.
“The Russian presence in the region as well as the deepening of 
military-political cooperation between Armenia and Russia are a very important 
deterring factor that helps to maintain regional stability and security,” 
Tonoyan said at a meeting of the defense ministers of several former ex-Soviet 
states, China, India and other countries.
Tonoyan addressed the meeting during what was his second visit to Moscow in less 
than two weeks. He met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and attended 
the opening ceremony of the International Army Games on August 23.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Postal operator of Armenia to open a branch in China

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 26 2020
HayPost, the national postal operator of Armenia, is set to open an international office in China, Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan told a press conference on Wednesday.
 
The minister informed that the branch of HayPost has reopened in US Denver which is aimed at boosting trade with the US. Expanding the reach of HayPost services beyond the borders of Armenia is aimed at establishing new relationship and new service opportunities between Armenia and its Diaspora, the minister noted.
 
Among other updates concerning the postal services, Arshakyan pointed to the initiative of digitizing the system of online pension payments along with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. The opening of a new type of postal point in Barekamavan village of Tavush region was mentioned as another achievement in the sphere of the country’s postal services.

Armenia MP: We must diplomatically “annoy” the Turks

Babken Chilingarian
news.am, Armenia
Aug 17 2020

17:27, 17.08.2020
                  

Spirit of Armenian diaspora in Jerusalem: Does it affect Azerbaijani-Israeli relations?

Babken Chilingarian
Aug 8 2020
08/08/2020 Conflicts

By Sabina Mammadli
Talking about Israel-Azerbaijan relations and Israel’s support to Azerbaijan, the perspective we mostly reconsider is the geographic location of Azerbaijan.

Sabina Mammadli

But I would like to stress out one more thing which is very of importance for Azerbaijan while it had challenging time recently during diaspora wars. It is very popular in Azerbaijan that Armenian diaspora has deep roots and occasionally it gets harder to deal with.
Recent skirmishes on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border transferred into foreign countries in a flash as a conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis flared up in mid-July. Despite the anger and the violence both had shown towards each other especially in Russia (where the significant number of both working and living), in Europe and the U.S.A, it seemed quick to identify the angriest side by watching some of the videos.
While in the background Armenian diaspora and lobby organizations tried the best in the countries mentioned demanding the United States to cut off military aid to Azerbaijan, in the meantime, Armenia itself expressed concerns about Israel’s supply of weapons to Azerbaijan and an article entitled “Israel should rethink its relationship with Azerbaijan” was published.
Today diaspora plays a vital role away from home, in foreign policy of the country of origin, this is especially true for Armenia. This article depicts the oldest Armenian diaspora so far in Jerusalem and its role in diaspora politics: Can we consider Jerusalem as a spiritual stronghold of the Armenian Diaspora? What kind of negative impacts do they have on Israeli-Azerbaijani relations?
Historical background
The first Armenian migration to Jerusalem began in IV century to exercise their pilgrimage. Since they started to build churches alongside with other Christians, Armenian devotees did not separate Armenian churches from Latin (Roman) Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches but Armenians had their own Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

Map of the religious quarters in Jerusalem Old City (Source: ABC)

Very unpopular reason behind it would be due to gain proper financial assistance and other forms of aid for the church population for the sake of Christianity. After some years not all Armenians were dependent on the Armenian Patriarchate. They were becoming very local surrounded by Arabian culture and traditions whether they were religious Christians or not, this cultural impact developed even more deeply in course of time.
Many Armenians spoke Arabic, English, German while knowing Armenian with a particular accent. I believe that some young Armenians forgot their original language being assimilated within Arab society. But the ones who had still close ties with the Jerusalem Patriarchate were still getting financial aid and helping local Armenians to start their businesses and make a life in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. A number of Armenians were living in Jerusalem while Haifa, Jaffa, Nazareth (now Israeli cities) had their Armenian population too.
During the Ottoman period, the central patriarchate was perceived to be located in Istanbul till 1915 Relocation and Resettlement law (known as Tehcir law). After the assassination of prominent Armenian committee leaders and deportation of Armenians from Anatolia, Jerusalem became home to many Armenian refugees who were rather divergent than original Armenian community of Palestine in terms of some traditions, language etc.
There were many who were effected by Armenian Nationalist Movement then revived in Anatolia. They are immediately assisted by the Jerusalem Patriarchate for housing and the settlement. Patriarchate got more financial aid through some charity organizations that helped not only Armenians also Arabs in difficult times on the verge of hunger and despair meanwhile Ottoman Empire was experiencing the worst days at that time.
Armenian refugees were angry and desperate. There was quite visible unlikeness between local Armenian population and the refugees. Soon Armenian refugees constituted the majority and they had brought some political and nationalist ideologies of well-known parties (Dashnaksutyun) and organizations with them to Jerusalem. After a couple of years those desperate refugees became very active, they got some jobs, opened clubs even reached wealth and left the Old City in Jerusalem to the “New City”.
Israel appears on the world map
After the establishment of State of Israel and several wars with Arabs, Armenians left Palestine, they mostly migrated to U.S.A. and Canada. Armenians who had illustrious political, nationalistic views upraised by their anger or hostility against the Ottomans brought their ideology and philosophy back from the edge of death and stimulated in the U.S.A, Canada, some European countries as well as in Palestine and Israel.
They have remained very distinct and marginalized as a community in foreign countries with the help of emotional and powerful doctrines and ideologies interfused by tragic events of 1915. However Azerbaijani diaspora in those countries has nothing similar with Armenians, so that Azerbaijanis living abroad suffered a lot during recent so called “diaspora war”.
Conclusion
There you see how recent history makes things clearer. By time some Armenians became citizens of Israel, although the number of Armenian population in Jerusalem decreased substantially, however, ANCA (Armenian National Committee of America) calls the community “the most Armenian”.
It looks like there is a blood history in minds that is impossible to forget about for most Armenians. They have been living in small communities but have strong ideologies.
Most Jerusalem Armenians have Israeli IDs but hold Jordanian passports to travel and keep in touch with neighboring Arabic countries and probably with Armenians living there. Jerusalem Armenians try to stay as a key community in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on determining the status of Jerusalem, yet they had not been taken into consideration much. But if you ask them about Jerusalem, their answer will probably be like “we don’t go anywhere as an old community living here for centuries”.
It might seem as “a little problem” to Israel as soon as Armenian community stays enraged about military partnership of Israel and Azerbaijan all the time. In 2016, April war made Armenians of Jerusalem stand up against Israel condemning its support to Azerbaijan in military and defense sphere. So many questions raised worrying about Azerbaijan-Israel friendship still deeply concerns Armenian diaspora, even Armenian government itself.
Author: Sabina Mammadli – Graduated from the Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan (APA), International Relations. Engaged in studies on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Nagorno-Karabakh, as an independent researcher for more than a year. Former project manager on peaceful conflict resolution. She mainly writes about Eastern Europe and  Caucasus.
(The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights). 
https://wgi.world/spirit-of-armenian-diaspora-in-jerusalem-does-it-affect-azerbaijani-israeli-relations/








Armenian Army Officer gets lost due to bad weather conditions

Babken Chilingarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 23 2020

<img width=”1024″ height=”708″ src=””https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/xDSC0023.jpg.pagespeed.ic.mJPzeIPodj.jpg” class=”attachment-full size-full wp-post-image” alt=”” srcset=”https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/xDSC0023.jpg.pagespeed.ic.mJPzeIPodj.jpg 1024w, 300w, 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/>

Officer Gurgen Alaverdyan lost his way due to unfavorable weather conditions, when inspecting the combat post, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense Shushan Stepanyan informs.

Search operations are under way, she said.

The Spokesperson dismissed the Azerbaijani reports on subversive attempt by the Armenian side.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry earlier claimed that  the Officer was taken prisoner after a “sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces attempted a provocation” at the border.



Armenia students advised to self-quarantine ahead of reopening of schools

Babken Chilingarian

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 13:48, 18 August, 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan has asked school and university students to voluntarily self-quarantine or limit contacts as a precaution ahead of the planned reopening of schools and higher education institutions in mid-September.

“In order to fully implement the educational process during the year, and to avoid new restrictions we are asking you, if possible, to ensure from September 1-14 a limitation of students’ contacts, a voluntary quarantine, so that we maximally break the chain of transmission of the pandemic and not bring the virus to schools, and also to help the healthcare system to further drop the number of [COVID-19] infections,” Harutyunyan said in a statement addressed to parents and students.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Security Alert – U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia (August 13, 2020)

Babken Chilingarian
US Embassy in Armenia
Aug 13 2020
Home | News & Events | 

Security Alert – U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia (August 13, 2020)

Location: Armenia

Event: In June 2020, the European Union (EU) added all Armenian air carriers to the EU Air Safety List due to concerns about safety oversight of air carriers certified in Armenia. This designation, which will remain in place at least through 2022, effectively bans all Armenian air carriers from flying into or within EU countries.

Given this assessment, U.S. government personnel in Armenia are prohibited from using Armenian air carriers for official travel. This includes, but is not limited to, the following entities:  Aircompany Armenia, Armenia Airways, Armenian Helicopters, Atlantis Armenian Airlines, Atlantis European Airways, Mars Avia, and Skyball.

Actions to Take:

  • Consider the information above when making travel plans
  • Review the EU’s assessment and findings in EU Regulation 2020/736 here

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy Yerevan
(+374-10) 49-45-85 (business hours)
(+374-10) 464-700 (after hours)
1 American Avenue
Yerevan 0082, Republic of Armenia
https://am.usembassy.gov/

For Travel Alerts and information about Armenia: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Armenia.html

State Department – Consular Affairs
888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444

 


Armenian priest sues Police for excessive use of force at L.A. protest

Babken Chilingarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 13 2020

Asbarez – Father Armen Bagramyan, a retired priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is suing the Los Angeles Police Department claiming personal injuries arising from the use of excessive force by an LAPD officer during a protest last month in front of the building housing Azerbaijan’s Consulate General, where thousands of peaceful demonstrators had gathered to condemn Azerbaijan’s aggressive attacks against Armenian a week before.

The suit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Wednesday alleges that while throughout the demonstration Father Bagramyan was assisting the police in ensuring the protest remain peaceful, despite attempts by a group Azerbaijanis who were there to incite violence, he was assaulted by a Los Angeles Police Officer indented in the suit as Officer Ruiz.

The court filing alleges that Ruiz “forcefully hit Father Bagramyan in the stomach with the butt of his gun and then violently kicked Father Bagramyan in the chest while he was attempting to regain his balance.”

“At no point before this attack had Officer Ruiz or any LAPD Officer commanded Father Bagramyan to correct any actions or warned him that he was not in compliance with any orders,” explained the lawsuit.

Paramedics were called to the scene and rushed Bagramyan to the nearby UCLA Medical center where he received treatment for his injuries.

“There has been a clear pattern of police violence during peaceful protests that has gone unchecked for far too long,” Bagramyan’s attorney Greg Kirakosian of Kirakosian Law, APC said in an phone interview.

“When clergymen calling for peace and exercising their First Amendment rights are getting needlessly attacked by law enforcement, there needs to be a serious reexamination of our city’s use of force policies.  Father Bagramyan intends on obtaining justice for the humiliating and excessive force used against him in the presence of his children and parishioners,” added Kirakosian.

The July 21 event was a peaceful protest for Armenian-Americans to express their anger and condemnation against Azerbaijan, whose armed forces launched several brazen attacks against military and civilian targets in Armenia’s Tavush Province, beginning on July 12.

Before the protest’s announced start time of 2 p.m. a group of Azerbaijani’s had assembled in front of the consulate building in a bid to thwart the Armenian community’s efforts to exercise its first amendment rights and condemn Azerbaijan’s brutal attacks on Armenia. As Armenian community members began arriving to the site, members of the Azerbaijani group began throwing water bottles at Armenian protesters, while LAPD officers were moving the Azerbaijani’s to a side walk across the street to avoid violent outbursts. As the water bottles hit some of the Armenian protesters, a scuffle took place forcing the closure of Wilshire Boulevard until the protest officially kicked off.

The group of Azerbaijanis were chanting “Death to Armenians,” “Kill them All,” as well as other slogans reminiscent of the ones used by Azerbaijani protesters in Baku a week before calling on the government to “Order us to (go to) War.” Their confrontational tone also mirrored the anti-Armenian slogans spray painted on the walls of the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan church three days after the L.A. protest.

The suit contends that Bagramyan, who was dressed in a cleric’s frock “worked with countless Los Angeles Police Department Officers to maintain peace and keep demonstrators out of the streets. At all relevant times, Father Bagramyan spoke to numerous LAPD Officers, provided them with water, and even prayed with them.”

“Father Bagramyan also spoke with the Captain in charge to discuss efforts to calm the crowed after an Azerbaijani demonstrator struck a young woman.”

There is photographic evidence from the July 21 event showing several people draped in the Azerbaijani flag were carrying knives, a saw, a hammer and metal rods, with one waving a leather belt.

The City of Los Angeles, the LAPD and its officer Ruiz have been named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges the priest’s civil rights were violated through the use of excessive force and by curtailing his First Amendment rights. Bagramyan is seeking unspecified damages.

L.A. Police Officer Mike Chan told Asbarez that the department does not comment on litigation.Sharing


Prosecutors demand life imprisonment for member of Sasna Tsrer Smbat Barseghyan

Babken Chilingarian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 13 2020

ArmInfo. On August 12, at a court session, prosecutors made indictments in the case of ten  members of the

Prosecutors insist that the defendants, covering up open calls for  criminal activity with distorted interpretations of legislation and  international norms, tried to justify their armed actions. In  addition, under still unclear circumstances, members of the organized  group illegally acquired and stored 14 machine guns, 840 pieces of  5.45 mm ammunition and 552 pieces of homemade firearms with 7.62 mm  cartridges, as well as grenades, explosives, 58 rifle cartridges.  According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination of  the body of Police Colonel Artur Vanoyan, who died during the armed  seizure, his death occurred from hemorrhagic and traumatic shock as a  result of a penetrating bullet wound through the chest, and Smbat  Barseghyan committed the murder.

The prosecutors demanded that the members of the group be found  guilty under paragraph 1 of part 3 of article 218 (taking hostages by  an organized group), part 3 of article 235 (illegal possession of  weapons), paragraphs 1 and 2 of part 4 of article 238 (theft of  weapons by an organized group) and paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 11 of part  2 of article 104 (theft of weapons by an organized group). The  prosecutor demanded to sentence Pavlik Manukyan to 9 years in prison,  Gagik Yeghiazaryan to 8 years and six months in prison, Areg  Kyureghyan to 8 years and 6 months in prison, Varuzhan Avetisyan to 8  years and 9 months, Smbat Barseghyan to life imprisonment, Armen  Bilyan – 21 years in prison, Sedrak Nazaryan – 9 years in prison,  Edvard Grigoryan – 8 years in prison, Mkhitar Avetisyan –  8 years  and 9 months of imprisonment. In relation to Arayik Khandoyan, it was  proposed to terminate the criminal prosecution on the basis of his  death.

To recall, on July 17, 2016, the group seized the  Regiment of the Patrol and Checkpoint Service of the Armenian Police  in the administrative district of Erebuni in Yerevan, demanding the  release of the coordinator of the Constituent Parliament civil  initiative Zhirayr Sefilyan, who is under arrest on charges of  illegal acquisition and storage of weapons. The group laid down their  arms and surrendered to the authorities on 31 July. All this time,  protests were held in the capital in support of the group members.   During these events, 3 law enforcement officers were killed, 6 more  were injured.