YEREVAN. Sept 7 (Interfax) - Russia has notified Armenia about stopping the search for former Armenian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mikael Harutyunyan on the Russian territory.
"The police have received such a notice," the Armenian police press service told Interfax on Friday.
The Russian police have stopped looking for former Armenian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mikael Harutyunyan, who is wanted in CIS member states, an informed source told Interfax earlier.
"Having studied materials regarding Harutyunyan, who is wanted in connection with the Yerevan events of March 1, 2008, it was decided to stop searching for him in the Russian territory," the source said.
Nothing is threatening the disfavored general in Russia, but he could be arrested and extradited to Armenia if he is caught in another CIS state, he said.
Moscow received the extradition request for the general via interstate investigative channels, rather than from the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office, the source said. The warrant for arrest indicated the suspect's home address in Moscow, he said.
Another source told Interfax that the request for Harutyunyan's extradition had been declined due to his naturalization in 2002.
Armenian Police Chief Valery Osipyan said earlier that Harutyunyan had been declared wanted. "We do not think it will be necessary to begin an international search right now. His whereabouts are still unknown," Osipyan told the press on August 21.
Levon Sargsyan, the brother of former Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, the former president's niece Ani Sargsyan, and Mikael Harutyunyan were declared wanted in the CIS in July, he said.
The former defense minister's wife told the press that Harutyunyan was in Moscow. According to the Armenian media, Levon Sargsyan and his daughter are also there.
Lt. Gen. Harutyunyan has been accused of violating the Constitution and trying "to overthrow the constitutional system" in March 2008, when supporters of former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan protested following Sargsyan's electoral victory.
The protests developed into clashes with the police on March 1 and 2; ten people were killed, and about 200 injured.
The accusations were brought against Harutyunyan, CSTO Secretary General Yury Khachaturov, who was serving in the Armenian Armed Forces at the time, and former president Robert Kocharyan. Khachaturov has been released from custody on bail, and Kocharyan was arrested. Kocharyan's defense appealed his arrest, and it was declared invalid on the grounds that the former president is immune from prosecution.