A former deputy commander of Armenian interior troops was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of killing an anti-government protester in Yerevan in the wake of a disputed presidential election held in 2008.
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) said the retired officer, Gegham Petrosian, is suspected of deliberately shooting Zakar Hovannisian, one of the eight protesters who died during vicious clashes with security forces on March 1-2, 2008.
Hovannisian died in hospital hours after sustaining a gunshot wound. A soldier and an officer of the interior troops, which are part of the national police service, were also killed in what was the worst street violence in Armenia’s history.
The violence erupted as security forces broke up opposition protests against alleged fraud in the February 2008 presidential election.
Petrosian is the first person facing prosecution in connection with the fatalities. It is not yet clear whether he will admit responsibility for the murder of the protester.
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