Tigran Petrosyan, who was arrested on 5 Nov 2013 following the developments in Liberty Square, is undergoing political persecution, Petrosyan's lawyer Ara Zakaryan said at a press conference on Monday.
According to the lawyer, a video material clearly shows that Tigran Petrosyan was only parting the fighters. Ara Zakaryan thinks that not only the charge against Petrosyan but also the decision to arrest him were illegal. "We have video materials that demonstrate those who really used violence against the police but they have not been brought to responsibility so far", he said.
"The video shows that violence was used against Shant Harutyunyan. As a result, he found himself on the ground and when the threat of another violence against Harutyunyan arose, Tigran Petrosyan pushed the policeman standing next to Harutyunyan in order to approach Harutyunyan and to prevent violence against him", said Petrosyan's lawyer.
Zakaryan added that Tigran Petrosyan confronted policeman Ara Karapetyan, the aggrieved party, only once over the past 4 months.
Tigran Petrosyan is charged with violence against the police. However, his lawyer said that the incident lasted for 3-4 seconds only. As a result, Tigran Petrosyan has been in custody for 4 months.
To recall, dozens of policemen and activists were injured as a result of the clashes that followed a demonstration organized in the center of Yerevan in support of activist Shant Harutyunyan, on 5 November. The clashes started at 05:30 PM when the demonstrators came across a police cordon. The police say that the demonstration was not sanctioned. As was reported earlier, the demonstrators were moving to Mashtots Park, when Shant Harutyunyan tried to cross the street against the traffic lights. The police's attempt to stop him ended in a skirmish. Harutyunyan and his son were detained. Some demonstrators began blowing up bottles with gasoline. The police cordoned the road leading to the presidential palace. Earlier Shant Harutyunyan organized a picket in Liberty Square. He stood there with a poster saying "I am Declaring a Revolution!"