The Ad-hoc Inquiry Committee into the Events Occurred on 1-2 March 2008 in Yerevan and Their Reasons of the National Assembly at its sitting on January 23 touched upon the results of the technical expertise on the special means Cheryomukha – 7.

Meanwhile Mr Samvel Nikoyan, Ad-hoc committee chairman, passed the data provided by RA Special Examination Service to those present on the criminal case of March 1. According to that certificate, a charge was proposed to 140 persons, 54 of them by Article 225 of the Criminal Code, 15 of them by Articles 225 and 300, 34 of them by Article 316, and 27 of them by Articles 176 and 177. As Mr Samvel Nikoyan said, the detention was changed towards 31 persons, the criminal case towards 26 persons was quashed or the criminal persecution was suspended. 90 cases were sent to the court, verdicts were made for 87 cases. According to these data, by RA President’s decree, 12 defendants were granted pardon, and in 12 cases the charges were grounded only by the evidence of the police.

The member of the Ad-hoc committee, chairman of the New Times Party Mr Aram Karapetyan, who left for Moscow with a letter addressed to the RF Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs Mr Alexander Smirny on Cheryomukha – 7 technical expertise, gave details about the visit.

The answer of the technical expertise was sent not to Mr Samvel Nikoyan, but to the prosecutor’s office, who in his turn passed it to NA Ad-hoc Committee. According to Mr Aram Karapetyan’s information, after his visit to RA General Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the visit to the representatives of police to Moscow with the same problem by which he explained the results of the expertise to the Prosecutor's Office, but not the circumstance of providing to the committee.

Mr Samvel Nikoyan read the document of the Prosecutor’s Office received from Special Technique and Communication research-production association of the Interior Affairs of the Russian Federation, where it said in particular that the bullets of Cheryomukha – 7 and Cheryomukha – 7M were valid for use maximum for five years.

It is supposed from the interpellations of the Prosecutor’s Office that the weapons were of 1986 and 1989 production: after passing the term the technical description of these means, according to Russian experts, is changed, military features are reduced and they cannot harm human’s life and health. Instead it is prohibited to shoot immediately a man. The NA Ad-hoc Committee also was interested in possibility of identifying Cheryomukha – 7 gas grenades with the shot weapons. In response, it was written that the institute does not do ballistic expertise, and it was proposed to address to another Expertise-forensic center of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of the Russian Federation. At the sitting the committee decided to address the RA Prosecutor’s Office and Special Examination Service for addressing the above-mentioned structure to carry out expertise of identification.

The deputies attending the sitting expressed concern for deterioration of the health state of their colleagues Mr Hakob Hakobyan and Mr Sasun Mikayelyan and proposed to apply to relevant bodies for providing medical investigation. The Human Rights Defender Mr Armen Harutyunyan who was attending the sitting said that he hadn’t received an official answer to his application addressed to the Minister of Justice on this problem.

The possibility of cooperation with the fact-finding group was also discussed at the sitting, as well as the issue of participation in the process of amendment of some articles in the Criminal Code. Mr Samvel Nikoyan said that he was going to propose to extend the works of the committee till the end of the activity of the fact-finding group.