Torgom Asatryan, one of the defendants in the case concerning the assault of Armenia’s current Foreign Minister and former National Assembly Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison. The verdict was issued by the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan under presiding Judge Zhora Chichoyan.
The prosecutor had demanded the maximum sentence of seven years, arguing that the crime was committed in a group, with particular cruelty, and during martial law, Sputnik Armenia reports.
Asatryan’s defense presented numerous details about his background, including awards and medals. He was described as an excellent student, successful athlete, and multiple-time MMA champion, as well as a master of Eastern martial arts.
Asatryan was arrested in February 2023, about 2.5 years after the events of November 9, 2020, and has already spent three years in custody.
On November 9, 2020, following the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan posted on Facebook that he had made a “very difficult decision.” In response, thousands took to the streets. Some stormed the main government building and Pashinyan’s office, while others entered the National Assembly on Baghramyan Avenue. During the unrest, Mirzoyan was attacked and hospitalized.
