Armenia's Court of Cassation has overturned today the conviction of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was a defendant in the March 1 case, absolving him from all responsibility for the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan.
The case dates back to late February and early March 2008, following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, angering the opposition that set off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
The Court of Cassation found Pashinyan not guilty of the charges brought against him and terminated the criminal case due to the absence of corpus delicti. It said this decision is final and not subject to appeal.
The Court of Cassation's ruling was preceded by an appeal of Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General requesting it to overturn the guilty verdict in Pashinyan’s trial and declare him innocent. The Office of the Prosecutor General said its request was based on an earlier ruling handed down by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ruled that Armenian law-enforcement authorities had violated Pashinyan’s right to freedom of speech and assembly.
On January 19, 2010, Nikol Pashinyan was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for organizing mass riots in March 2008. On March 9, 2010 the Criminal Court of Appeals, halved the remaining part of Pashinyan's prison term as part of an amnesty.
On May 27, 2011, Pashinyan was freed under a general amnesty declared by the former Armenian authorities in connection with the 20th anniversary of independence of Armenia.
