ECHR issues its judgment in the case of March 1, 2008

ArmInfo.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has published its decision in the case of Farmanyan v. Armenia, concerning the deaths of people  during mass protests in Yerevan in 2008 (the events of March 1 - ed.)  as a result of the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force  by the police. The judgment found a number of violations on the part  of the Republic of Armenia.

The judgment published on the ECHR's Twitter account (X), notes that  the applicants in the case were relatives of nine victims: eight  civilians and one conscript. Most of them were shot or wounded by  tear gas grenades during violent clashes between police and  protesters on the evening of March 1, 2008. In today's ruling, the  ECHR unanimously found a violation of Article 2 (right to life) of  the European Convention on Human Rights with respect to seven  victims. It noted that they were killed as a result of a poorly  planned and executed police operation, which resulted in the police  using tear gas grenades in violation of safety regulations, as well  as the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of lethal weapons such  as AK-74 assault rifles and Makarov pistols.

The Court concluded that the authorities had failed to conduct an  effective investigation into the deaths of the applicants' relatives,  in further violation of Article 2. One victim died from a head wound  from an unidentified object, while the other was shot and died in  unknown circumstances. "However, the Court unanimously found that  there had been a violation of Article 2 with respect to the  investigation into the deaths of all the applicants' relatives. The  investigative measures taken were incomplete or pointless, the  applicants were not informed of the developments, and overall, there  was an impression of political bias," the verdict stated.

Finally, the Court unanimously found that Armenia had failed to  comply with its obligations under Article 38 (failure to submit  documents requested) of the Convention by providing only the bare  minimum of documents from the case file.

The Court held that Armenia was to pay each applicant 30,000 euros  (EUR) in respect of nonpecuniary damage and EUR 35,000 jointly to all  the applicants in respect of costs and expenses.