On February 9 “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily informed that the day before, on
February 8, an employee of the Yerevan Investigation Department of RA Police
Ashot Kostanian made a resolution on stopping the investigation on the criminal
proceedings on the ignition of the car, owned by “Haikakan Zhamanak” and used by
its Chief Editor. As it has been reported, the fire occurred on November 22,
2004, and, according to the conclusion of the forensic fire examination, it was
caused by an open fire source (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
December
3-9, 2004). The Chief Editor of “Haikakan Zhamanak” Nikol Pashinian
qualified the incident as deliberate, directed personally against him, and
introduced a version of the well known businessman, head of “Multigroup” concern
and a deputy of the RA National Assembly Gagik Tsarukian being partial to it
(see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter,
November
19-25, 2004).



The information on the case closure was placed on the front page of “Haikakan
Zhamanak” and was accompanied by a picture of Gagik Tsarukian. The newspaper
noted it would get back to the subject in greater detail after it got a copy of
the resolution on investigation stoppage. At the same time “Haikakan Zhamanak”
pointed out the fact that the investigation body did not even interrogate Gagik
Tsarukian. The newspaper also reminded that the investigator on the car ignition
case, Ashot Kostanian named above, was also in charge of the investigation of
attacks on journalists during opposition rally on April 5, 2004. As it has been
reported, in June last year two of the media attackers, Hrayr Harutiunian and
Ashot Avetisian, were sentenced by court to a fine of 100 thousand AMD (abut $
180) each (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter,
June 4-10,
2004). This sentence, the trial itself, along with the preliminary
investigation on the events of April 5 were qualified by a number of
journalistic organizations of Armenia to be a farce. “Aravot” daily of February
8 made a supposition that the same Ashot Avetisian took part in the major and
bloody skirmish on the evening of February 4 in Yerevan. This supposition was
confirmed. On February 10, with a reference to the Department of Information and
Public Relations of the RA Police, the press reported the detainment of the
skirmish participants, including Ashot Avetisian.