Charges brought against member of armed group that seized police premises in Yerevan - lawyer
YEREVAN. Aug 2 (Interfax) - Arayik Khandoyan, a member of the armed group that seized the grounds of a police regiment in Yerevan on July 17 and surrendered to the authorities on July 31, was charged with taking hostages and illegally possessing weapons, Arayik Papikyan, lawyer for Khandoyan, said on Tuesday.
The charges have been brought against Khandoyan under Article 218 and Article 235 Part 3 of the Armenian Criminal Code, Papikyan told reporters. These articles stipulate for a punishment in the form of imprisonment and if found guilty of these particular offences, the defendant may face five to eight or three to eight years in prison respectively.
Khandoyan was wounded in a shootout on July 29 and refused to leave the occupied territory of the police regiment's compound. He once participated in hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone where he was known as Lone Wolf.
A group of armed people seized the grounds of a police regiment in Yerevan early on July 17. They killed one policeman, and four other people were injured during the attack. The radicals demanded the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, coordinator of the civic opposition initiative 'Founding Parliament', who is currently held under arrest on charges of illegal acquisition and storage of weapons.
The attackers also demanded the Armenian leadership's resignation and the formation of a credible government.
They surrendered on Sunday evening.