Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) has not yet questioned YouTube user martimek2008, who has posted a number of videos allegedly depicting the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, in Yerevan. This news was conveyed to Epress.am by SIS special cases investigator and head of the group carrying out investigations on the Mar. 1 criminal case Vahagn Harutyunyan.
Earlier, local daily 168 Zham (“168 Hours”) had reported that, according to Harutyunyan, they had questioned the person posting the clips on YouTube, but the examination cannot yet be made public. The newspaper had also reported that the YouTube user was being called to the case as a witness.
Recall, martimek2008 has posted 4 videos allegedly on the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, when national police and military forces, called in to disperse the mass riots following a contested presidential election, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded, on YouTube since May this year.
The circumstances surrounding the events during these days (as well as the investigation into the people behind the murders) have still not been officially clarified.
The last video had been uploaded on YouTube on Jun. 15. The 2 minutes and 45 seconds clip is called “Grigor Gevorgyan shot by snipers.” The description below the video says (in Armenian) that it was shot on Mar. 1, 2008, and depicts snipers shooting at Grigor Gevorgyan, one of the 10 fatal victims, after which demonstrators are not permitted to provide assistance to Gevorgyan. Furthermore, the description notes that the body is left lying on the ground for 30 minutes and that the police don’t attempt to move the corpse.
The other three clips are “Border Troops in Liberty Square,” “See how they fire on Mar. 1, 2008,” and “Samvel Harutyunyan’s Execution… 01.03.2008“.