FORMER Armenian defence minister Seyran Ohanyan has been charged with overthrowing the constitutional order in the country following government investigations into the killing of protesters after the March 2008 elections.

He is the sixth high-ranking official to be charged as part of the investigations into the deaths of 10 people after the army was mobilised to crush mass protests questioning the legitimacy of the election in the capital Yerevan.

Charges have also been brought against former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, who is currently in jail, and former defence minister Michael Harutyunyan. 

Protests continued for 10 days after the 2008 election which opposition groups claimed was rigged in favour of Serzh Sargsyan. They were forcibly cleared from Freedom Square on March 1 by security forces and 10 people were killed during clashes.

Nobody had been brought to justice for the killings, however the change of government and the election of Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister following a mass protest movement last year paved the way for investigations and charges to be brought.

Mr Orhanyan, who was chief of Armenia’s armed forces at the time, is held under signature bond preventing him from fleeing the country.