By Ani Paitjan
Armenia’s ex-President Serzh Sargsyan was questioned by the Armenian Special Investigative Service (SIS) for several hours on February 1, according to ArmTimes news site.
According to Hetq, Serzh Sargsyan was questioned as a witness for the March 1, 2008 incident, when government forces clashed with civilians following presidential elections.
CivilNet contacted Marina Ohanjanyan, SIS spokeswoman, to confirm Sargsyan’s February 1 questioning. She did not deny or refute the information.
“As we have said many times, we do not provide information on who has been interrogated or questioned within this and other criminal cases,” Ohanjanyan said.
On February 19, 2008, Serzh Sargsyan became the president of Armenia. His opponent, the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian and his supporters refused to accept the results of the election. For the next 10 days, there were round-the-clock sit-ins around the Opera, in Freedom Square. Then-President Robert Kocharyan announced a state of emergency and army subdivisions entered Yerevan. On March 1, government forces clashed with protesters resulting in the deaths of eight civilians and two policemen, and roughly 300 injured.
In the course of ten years, no one has taken or borne any responsibility, including legal, for the deaths that occurred on March 1.
Read More: Robert Kocharyan Under Arrest: A Timeline of Events
Since the Velvet Revolution in Armenia, SIS has charged Kocharyan and three retired generals with instigating the deaths during March 1 events.
Kocharyan called the accusations a “political persecution” and a “vendetta”.
In August 2018, the head of the Special Investigation Service Sasun Khachatryan stated, “Everyone involved in this case will be interrogated, all without exception. Serzh Sargsyan will be interrogated as well.”
Read More:
Is Pashinyan-Kocharyan Cease-Fire Possible?
With Ex-President’s Arrest, Armenia Sets Post-Soviet Precedent
