On June 10, 2004, the court of first instance of Yerevan's Center and Nork-Marash districts heard the criminal case against Ashot Avetisyan and Hrair Harutiunyan - two of the men who attacked journalists at the April 5, 2004 rally organized by the National Unity Party. The Yerevan Prosecutor's Office had indicted them for using violence against mass media representatives and for deliberate damage or breakage of editorial equipment during the rally.

The victims of the attack declared in court that the preliminary investigation had not been properly conducted, and that not all the attackers had been identified. The investigative body tried to sweep the case under the rug, and the court, taking into consideration the attackers' "repentance", imposed small penalties upon them - fining them 100,000 drams (about $180) each for damages. The "shaved heads" displayed the same hooligan behavior in the courtroom - they prevented journalists from entering the courtroom, insulting and mocking them. When Noyan Tapan reporter Sona Mashuryan demanded that they allow her to do her job, they insulted her and threatened to crack her head open. Policemen who were present in the courtroom to keep order went beyond the indifference they had displayed during the April 5 th rally, joining the perpetrators in insulting the journalists present.

The Association of Investigative Journalists believes that the trial merely provided the illusion of defending the freedom of the press and guaranteeing the equality of all before the law. In reality, the presence of the "shaved heads" in the courtroom and the threats and insults directed against journalists prove that the authorities lack the will to defend free speech and that criminals go unpunished.