Leader of Tseghakron Party Shant Harutyunyan has been sentenced to 6 years in prison and his son Shahen Harutyunyan has been given a 4-year suspended sentence. The verdict was delivered on October 17 by the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash communities of Yerevan. The term for serving punishment starts from 5 November 2013 when Shant Harutyunyan and his supporters held a protest action in Liberty Square in Yerevan and were arrested following clashes with the police.
Vahe Mkrtchyan, one of Shant Harutyunyan's teammates, has been sentenced for 7 years in jail, Albert Sarkaryan - 6 years, Sevak Mnatsakanyan - 5.5 years, retired Lieutenant Colonel Vardan Vardanyan, Liparit Petrosyan and Avetis Avetisyan - 5 years, Hayk Harutyunyan - 4.5 years, Alex Poghosyan and Mkrtich Hovhannisyan - 4 years. Armen Hovhannisyan, who served in the Armenian army for 20 years, has been sentenced to 2 years in jail, and Tigran Petrosyan has been given a 1-year sentence.
To recall, Shant Harutyunyan was arrested following the 5 Nov 2013 developments in Liberty Square. The clashes in Liberty Square started at 5:30 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. Earlier Shant Harutyunyan organized a picket in Liberty Square. He stood there with a poster saying "I am Declaring a Revolution!" A total of 38 people were detained, and many of them were arrested.