Court acquits man who called for justifying violence against primе minister
SOCIETY
03.12.2021 | 18:09A Yerevan court has acquitted Aram Harutyunyan, who was tried for calls justifying violence against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
In a 6-minute video titled “Nikol, you changed our textbooks and holidays” posted on Youtube on 22.12.2020, Harutyunyan was seen saying: “It is up to the Armenian people to take revenge on Nikol. Tehleryans are thousands, they are millions. Nikol, for the sake of your family, for the safety of your family, come here, kneel and apologize to the mothers of the victims, because you will be punished if you do not come. You cannot run away, you will not manage to run away, we cannot hold the hand of every Armenian; some have lost two children, some lost their family, house, no one can hold that person’s hand. If Tehleryan was acquitted then, the one who commits slander will be called a hero.”
Harutyunyan was charged under an article of the Criminal Code that criminalizes actions aimed at inciting national, racial or religious enmity, racial superiority or humiliation of national dignity, which were carried out publicly or through the media. The judge acquitted Harutyunyan for lack of corpus delicti.
The ruling has been appealed by the prosecutors.