27 July 2018, 19:10
CSTO Secretary General charged in case on dispersal of demonstrators in Yerevan
Investigators demanded to arrest Yuri Khachaturov, the Secretary General of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization, also known as the ODKB), accused of overthrowing the constitutional order of Armenia in connection with the dispersal of protests in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008. This was reported by the Special Investigating Service (SIS) of Armenia.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the oppositional leader Nikol Pashinyan came to power, a criminal case was instituted in connection with the violent overthrow of the constitutional order in connection with the events of March 2008. On July 3, Colonel-General Mikael Arutyunyan, who was then the Armenian Minister of Defence, was put on the wanted list. According to the investigators, he ordered the army units to enter Yerevan and violated the Constitution when used the armed forces against demonstrators.
On March 1-2, 2008, in Yerevan, mass riots started after the dispersal of a rally arranged by the opposition, which did not agree with the results of the presidential election, won by Serzh Sargsyan. As a result of clashes with the police, ten people were killed and more than 250 were injured.
In the period from 2008 to 2016, Yuri Khachaturov was the Chief of the General Headquarters of the Armenian Armed Forces and the First Deputy Minister of Defence, and in April 2017, he was appointed the CSTO Secretary General.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 27, 2018 at 02:26 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent
