Epress.am News from Armenia
The parents and other relatives of the six men convicted in the Harsnaqar case on Tuesday held a protest outside the Armenian president's residence.
About two dozen people, in conversation with reporters, said that they are dissatisfied with the verdict, as all the defendants received 12 years in prison, though the degree of their guilt is not the same. Some of the family members of the accused threatened to commit self-immolation if their complaints are not heard and their case is not pursued.
Police officers seized the plastic bottle containing gasoline that demonstrators had brought from their hands. Then, some of the parents entered the Reception of Citizens, Appeals, Complaints and Proposals Office to submit their complaint. At the president's office, Nune Margaryan, one of the mothers of the accused, Garik Margaryan, felt ill, and paramedics arrived on the scene to assist her.
Recall, on June 17, 2012, a group of military doctors were subject to a beating at the Harsnaqar restaurant complex belonging to President of the Football Federation of Armenia, then MP Ruben Hayrapetyan. One of the doctors, Vahe Avetyan, 32, died 12 days later in the hospital. The defendants — Garik Margaryan, Arman Khachatryan, Arman Baghdasaryan, Norayr Hayrapetyan, Artur Babloyan, and Davit Adamyan — worked at the restaurant.