Police Officer Named as Victim in Case Against Shant Harutyunyan Says He Wasn’t Injured in Clashes

Police Lieutenant Colonel Andranik Arakelyan said in court today that he received no bodily injuries and his clothes were not torn during the November 5, 2013 march organized by Shant Harutyunyan and his friends. Arakelyan said only that his eyes stung from the  petrol bombs. The lieutenant colonel is named as a victim in the case and it was in this capacity that he testified at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan today. 

Arakelyan also said he didn't intend to disrupt Harutyunyan's planned march; he simply wanted participants to walk on the sidewalk. 

Harutyunyan asked Arakelyan whether he knew that he simply wanted to cross Mashtots Avenue and walk on the sidewalk across the street. The lieutenant colonel answered in the negative. 

Harutyunyan explained that he didn't want to walk up and cross the street at the crossing, as he was afraid there would be provocations there, and he simply wanted to cross Mashtots Avenue and walk on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. 

Arakelyan continued his testimony in court at time of publication.