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“It is quite disturbing when a state official provides false information to the public,”  Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan said during a briefing after the weekly government session today while commenting on the statement of governor of Syunik province Suren Khachatryan that his son Tigran Khachatryan was in Yerevan on May 2, 2015 when the incident in Sdkhi Gyol occurred, and was not involved in the scuffle.

The press service of Investigative Service of Armenia (IC) said earlier that all necessary steps were being taken for a comprehensive and impartial investigation of violence committed against brothers Harutyun and Mushegh Zakarians. The press service of IC reported on July 27 that Tigran Khachatryan who inflicted severe injuries on Harutyun Zakaryan was charged with a crime referred to in Article 112 part of Armenia’s Criminal Code – intentional infliction of severe injuries on a person or infliction of other grave damage to health, considered dangerous to life.

The investigator filed on the same day an application to a court to choose arrest as a measure of restraint against Tigran Khachatryan. The petition was granted: the governor’s son has been arrested for two months. A preliminary investigation is underway.

Earlier, Pastinfo news agency reported citing Armenia’s Investigative Committee that around 9:35 pm on May 2, 2015 a local police station received a call from the Goris city medical center, saying that Harutyun Zakaryan was taken to hospital with an eye injury. His brother, Mushegh Zakaryan, was also injured in the incident. Police learned that around 4:00 pm on May 2 Zakaryan argued with T. Khachatryan (Tigran Khachatryan - the son of Syunik regional governor Suren Khachatryan). The quarrel continued in an area better known as ‘Sdkhi Gyol’ where several other men entered into the argument, which turned into a scuffle. H. Zakaryan was injured in the scuffle (he lost his eyesight). On May 4 the prosecutor’s office of Syunik province opened a criminal case under Article 258 part 3 – hooliganism committed by a group of people.

During the investigation six people, including the governor’s brother and son, were involved as accused persons based on the collected evidence.