Decision to terminate prosecution against former vice-chief RA Police  overturned

ArmInfo.The Prosecutor General's Office announced on August 14, 2025, that Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan overturned the January 30, 2020, decision to terminate the criminal prosecution against former Deputy Chief of Police Sasha Afyan. A public criminal  case was opened against Sasha Afyan, and the criminal trial materials, supported by the indictment, were submitted to court on  January 9, 2026, where the main hearings are currently underway.

As reported by the supervisory authority's press service, on April  27, 2026, the prosecutor filed a motion with the court to recognize  Mushegh Saghatelyan's son as a victim in the criminal case against  Sasha Afyan. Saghatelyan was tortured by police officers in central  Yerevan and then at a police station during the events of March 1,  but was unlawfully convicted and then acquitted on October 23, 2008,  of violence against police officers.

The court granted the prosecutor's motion. Mushegh Saghatelyan's son  was recognized as a victim in the case against Sasha Afyan.

As a reminder, on March 1, 2008, following the presidential elections  held on February 19, which were won by Serzh Sargsyan, riots broke  out in Yerevan, culminating in clashes with law enforcement. The  Armenian opposition, led by first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who  also ran in the election, held rallies in central Yerevan beginning  February 20, expressing dissatisfaction with the vote results. The  protests erupted on March 1-2 into riots and clashes between  protesters and law enforcement, resulting in 10 deaths, including  police officers, and over 200 injuries of varying severity. On August  17, 2018, Nikol Pashinyan declared that the case surrounding the  events of March 1-2, 2008, in Yerevan had been fully resolved.