By Tatev Mesropyan

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s former Police Chief Alik Sargsyan wishes good luck to former Chief of the Police Force Criminal Investigation Department, Police Major General Hovhannes Tamamyan. Sargsyan expressed this sentiment in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am. 

To note, several weeks ago the former Police Chief had also said that if he had not felt uncomfortable, he would have gone to the court and asked for the release of former Road Police Chief Margar Ohanyan.   

And with respect to our query as to his view on Hovhannes Tamamyan’s case, Alik Sargsyan responded: “The trial is in progress, and let the court examine the details and make a ruling. If he is guilty, [let the court] punish him, and if he is not guilty, let them release him.”  

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, Tamamyan is currently being tried at the court, and he pleads not guilty for the charges of abuse of power, which has caused serious consequences. Tamamyan is under custody since March 24, 2011. Whereas Margar Ohanyan is charged with abuse of official position and large-scale embezzlement of property, and he is under custody since August 30. If found guilty, he could face up to 12 years in prison. In his capacity as Armenia’s Road Police Chief, Margar Ohanyan is charged with appropriating 574,420 liters of gasoline, which was allocated to the Road Police, and thus with causing the state damages worth 160 million drams (approx. US$ 420,000).