My Protest was Act of Revenge Against the Trial: Hayk Kyureghyan

Hayk Kyureghyan, who opened fire outside a Yerevan courthouse on June 12, is convinced that the majority of the public, if it doesn't welcome his act then at least considers it completely unobjectionable, says Kyureghyan in a statement titled "Political Prisoner Hayk Kyureghyan's Statement" disseminated by one of his attorneys, Ara Zakaryan.

"Regardless of which segment of the public condemns or welcomes it, I wanted to provide the following explanations on what I did. Let me say, not for one second did I doubt or hesitate in the righteousness or necessity of my deed.

"My feelings of good and evil acquired on my skin and through my experience over the course of my life, my inner conscience, and the books I've read not only convey an unshakable feeling, but also raise its implementation to a level of honor and necessity.

"If power is a monster, then isn't a duty to eliminate it? I came out against the monster at the moment it was carrying out one of its bloodthirsty deeds, when it was seeking revenge on 14 of our fellow citizens. My protest was [an act of] revenge against the trial, against police officers implementing a cannibal act. For me it was at the level of internal duty," says Kyureghyan in the statement. 

Recall, at the start of the June 12 hearing in the case of Shant Harutyunyan and his friends, Kyureghyan climbed onto a car outside the courthouse and shot rounds from what seemed to be an air pistol in the police's direction, attempting, he said, to prevent "an erroneous judgment on Shant."

Kyureghyan informed head of a group of civil society members monitoring conditions in Armenian prisons and detention centers Hasmik Sahakyan, who had come to visit him at the Erebuni temporary detention center, that he was ill-treated during and after the arrest. Recently, Kyureghyan was recognized as a victim in the case of police use of violence against him and was already questioned in this capacity.