Yerevan seeks extradition of ex-officials involved in ‘March 1’ case from Moscow

Armenian prosecutors will soon file another extradition request with Russian authorities for two former high-ranking officials accused of a high-profile cover-up of the March 1, 2008 case, Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan said.

The two ex-officials - former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanyan and top investigator in charge of the March 1 task force Vahagn Harutyunyan - have been living in Russia. They are accused of abusing their official positions to falsify evidence and distort the investigation.

"We are working with Russia within the framework of a multilateral treaty; at the moment, this is the Chisinau Convention. Currently, we do not have consent from the Russian side regarding the extradition of these individuals. The Prosecutor General’s Office will soon send another extradition request to Russia, asking them to reconsider the previously rejected extradition,” Anna Vardapetyan said.