The court session for the Sasna Tsrer armed group case was in session. Victims Valery Osipyan, the current chief of police, and Vardan Yeghiazaryan, the former chief of police, were present.
Chief of police Valery Osipyan gave his testimony on the police regiment case. He stated, “It was not a regiment anymore; it had been destroyed. They even destroyed the technology. I always said that if you conduct a regime change, won’t you need this computer and all this technology? Why did you destroy this car? Won’t this technology be of use to you in your New Armenia? The warehouses were completely destroyed. They were wearing everything that the police were supposed to wear.”
Osipyan continued, “Smbat was also wearing a white shirt. He had disappeared for a while, and then he came back wearing his black clothes. I did not see him during the day. I did not know where he was.”
On July 17th, 2016, the ‘Sasna Tsrer’ armed group took over the Police Patrol Service Regiment and took hostages, one of whom was the current police chief Valery Osipyan. Three police officers were killed, and nine members of the group were wounded. The armed group laid down their arms on July 31st. There is currently a trial taking place. The majority of the members of the ‘Sasna Tsrer’ group are now free, and have created a political party.
Tatev Harutyunyan
