Prosecutor offers 4-year prison term for ex police official.

Harutyun Harutyunyan, a senior public prosecutor conducting legal proceedings against the ex-chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police, Hovhannes Tamamyan, has called for sentencing the fired police official to four years in prison, Tert.am reports.

At a court hearing on Tuesday, Harutyunyan offered to declare March 24 the beginning of the imprisonment term.

The prosecutor also referred to the other defendants in the case – Armen Poghosyan, senior police investigator in Yerevan’s Arabkir district, and Vahan Khazandyan, a senior investigator for especially important matters at the Armenian Police. Harutyunyan offered a two-year probation sentence for both police officers.

Tamamyan’s defense lawyer, Vaghinak Gevorgyan, asked the court to delay the pronouncement of the verdict. Justice Arshak Vardanyan appointed March 23 as the date of the next hearing.

Tamamyan’s lawyer told reporters after the hearing that he feels the decision to convict his client has been already made.

Tamamyan, who was fired from office in February 2011, is facing charges under Article 308.1 of Armenia’s Criminal Code (abuse of official authority for mercenary interests). Poghosyan and Khanzadyan, also defendants in the same case, are accused of abusing authority.