Sasun Khachatryan, Chief of the Special Investigation Service (SIS) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), has no information about former Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunyan being a Russian citizen.

Khachatryan told about the aforesaid to reporters, and prior to Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government.

“According to our information, Mikayel Harutyunyan is only an RA citizen,” he noted.

And when asked whether the SIS was going to check this information, Khachatryan said, “We will check [it].”

As reported earlier, a charge has been brought against second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, former Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunyan, and incumbent Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General and Armenia’s former Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Khachaturov, within the framework of the criminal case into the tragic events that transpired in capital city Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008—and under Article 300.1 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code; that is, breaching Armenia’s constitutional order, in conspiracy with others.

Since Harutyunyan is not in Armenia, a search for him was declared. And on July 27, Khachaturov was released on bail, whereas Kocharyan was remanded in custody for two months by a court decision.

On March 1 and 2, 2008, the then authorities used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the recent presidential election. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes. But no one had been brought to account for these deaths, to this day.