Oppositionist Accused of Assaulting Police Officer Was Trying to Break Up Fight, Witness Says

A witness in the trial of Founding Parliament anti-government movement Gevorg Safaryan, who is being prosecuted for allegedly assaulting police officer Gegham Khachatryan on New Year's Eve, said in court on Wednesday that Safaryan had in fact been trying to ease the situation and stop the fight from escalating. Sevak Manukyan, a Founding Parliament sympathizer, also claimed that police officer Vardan Apresyan had punched him during the brawl on Freedom Square.

“This caused me to fall to the ground, and another law enforcer dragged me through the square and left me under a nearby tree where I lost consciousness,” Manukyan said.

After the incident, the witness went on, he was taken to the hospital where he saw the supposed victim, Gegham Khachatryan, without any injury to his face. “I went up to him and told him that his colleagues had beaten me up, to which he replied that 'good; they should have hit you some more.'”

During yesterday's hearing, the court viewed surveillance footage from the night, which showed officer  Gegham Khachatryan beating several citizens and officer Vardan Apresyan punching the defendant. The video also showed a great distance and two other police officers between Khachatryan and Safaryan. This prompted the defendant to comment that “I could not have hit Khachatryan even if I wanted to.”

The next hearing at Yerevan's Kentron and Nork-Marash district court will be held on Thursday.