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Men Indicted Over Assault On Oppositionists

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  • Men Indicted Over Assault On Oppositionists

    MEN INDICTED OVER ASSAULT ON OPPOSITIONISTS
    Irina Hovannisian

    http://www.azatutyun.am/content/artic le/1968511.html
    25.02.2010

    Two men will go on trial soon for their alleged role in an attack
    on young opposition activists that campaigned for the opposition
    candidate in a recent parliamentary by-election in Yerevan.

    The more than a dozen young members of the opposition Armenian National
    Congress (HAK) were beaten up by a larger group of men on December
    27 as they urged residents of a central Yerevan constituency to vote
    for Nikol Pashinian, a jailed opposition leader, in the January
    10 ballot. Five of them suffered serious injuries and required
    hospitalization.

    The HAK blamed the attack on Pashinian's main government rival,
    Ara Simonian, and the local chapter of the ruling Republican Party
    of Armenia (HHK). Both Simonian and the HHK denied any involvement.

    The Armenian police said on Thursday that they have charged two
    local residents, Vahan Nadaghian and David Simonian, with provoking
    the incident and will send the criminal case to a court in the coming
    days. A police spokesman told RFE/RL that the two government loyalists
    have been charged under Criminal Code articles that carry fines and
    up to two months' imprisonment.

    HAK representatives shrugged off the indictments, saying that Nadaghian
    and Simonian should have been facing more serious accusations. They
    also said that the police have failed to identify other attackers.

    According to Armen Khachatrian, the HAK's top legal counsel, the
    lawyers of the injured opposition youths will therefore demand that
    the police launch a new and "full-fledged" investigation into the
    incident. Khachatrian also claimed that the indicted men coordinated
    the alleged vote rigging and intimidation of opposition proxies in
    two polling stations on election day.

    Official vote results gave victory to the pro-government candidate.

    Pashinian and the HAK refused to concede defeat, alleging widespread
    fraud.

    The election was also criticized by the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. The
    Armenian authorities insisted, however, that it was largely democratic.
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