On August 29 the regular sitting of the NA Ad-Hoc Inquiry Committee into the Events Occurred on 1-2 March 2008 in Yerevan and Their Reasons was convened presided over by the Committee Chairman Mr Samvel Nikoyan.

Mr Samvel Nikoyan said that, according to the received certificate from the Prosecutor’s Office, 9 defendants are under detention by August 28.

Mr Nikoyan sent a notification on August 19 to RA Police asking to provide additioonal information on a number of questions for solving the problems laid down before the committee. In particular, what weapons or special means were fixed to the policemen involved in the events occurred in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, present their list completely, noting the kind of weapons or the special means with its numbers, give in detail the number of the bullets shot from every weapon or special means used on March 1-2. Has anybody ordered to fire the protesters or not? If yes, who ordered, on what legal bases and by what was conditioned the inevitability of using the weapons? In the right using of the special means could they be cause of death for the people, if yes, then why? They also asked to send corresponding information on the procedure of applying "Cheryomukha" special means by the police and technical descriptions during the events occurred on March 1-2, 2008. Mr Nikoyan also asked the police to provide the committee the complete video records on the actions occurred at Liberty Square and the succeeding actions, as the video record presented by them on the actions implemented by the police at the Liberty Square in the morning of the March 1, 2008 was not complete and the time of their implementation was not clear.

In the official letter by the police, which the committee received on August 28 it is mentioned that the detailed information on the armament of the police and the military servants of the military police, who were involved in the events that occurred in Yerevan on March 1-2, were provided to the RA Special Investigation Service and the committee could get an exhaustive answer from the Special Investigation Service. In the official letter it was mentioned that there was no order to shoot the protesters. In response to the next question it was noted that in the correct use of the special means the issue of the exclusion and opportunity was discussed within the frameworks of pre-investigation being implemented at the Special Investigation Service, and the full answer would be received after the end of pre-investigation. In order to study the problems connected with the use of the special means appropriate persons were recognized as specialists by the pre-investigation body, and the exhaustive answer of the question, as it was noted in the official letter, the committee could get from the Special Investigation Service. In the official letter it was also noted that the RA Police has no other video recordings apart from the recordings presented at the Theatrical/Liberty Square in the morning of March 1. Mr Nikoyan expressed his discontent connected with the answer of the police, noting that the committee could not fulfill the problems laid down before the committee with those answers.

The NA Ad-Hoc Inquiry Committee Chairman Mr Samvel Nikoyan believes that taking into account the huge amount of work that the committee should carry out, there is a need of creating a fact-finding specialized group, which is also the proposal of the PACE Resolution and CE Human Rights Commissioner.

The Committee members approved the committee chairman’s proposal, also mentioning that the creation of the expertise group is a necessity.

Mr Shota Vardanyan, Director of the Expertise Scientific Practical Centre of the RA Healthcare presented clarifications about those who were wounded and the results of the forensic expertise of the casualty circumstances as a result of the events that occurred on March 1-2. As Mr Vardanyan said, during this period the center carried out expertise of 125 out patient, 140 in-patient treatment and 10 corpses. Among the police and military servicemen 34 people received explosive splinter wound and 1 wound by shooting. 10 people among the protesters received wounds by shooting and 6 of them received splinter wounds.