YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court has approved the Special Investigative Service’s motion to jail ex-police official Gegham Petrosyan in the March 1 probe.

Petrosyan is charged with manslaughter in the ongoing investigation into the 2008 post-election unrest. At that time, Petrosyan was serving as the deputy commander of police troops. He is accused in deliberately killing a protester.

The March 1st events colloquially refer to the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, when clashes between security forces and protesters left 10 people, including two security officers dead. The unrest spanned from late February until late March. The events are known simply as March First because it was on this day when police troops violently dispersed protesters in downtown Yerevan.

The protests were led by First President of Armenia Levon-Ter Petrosyan, who according to official results of the election lost to Serzh Sargsyan. Ter-Petrosyan's supporters believed the election was rigged.

Robert Kocharyan was the outgoing president at the time.

Incumbent PM Nikol Pashinyan was a senior member of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s political party in 2008 and was coordinating the protests.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan