Court’s ruling on Gayane Arustamyan’s case to be announced on March 14
15:54, February 24, 2017 | News, Own news | Freedom of Movement, Right to be free from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to liberty and security
On February 23, 2017, the RA Administrative Court, presided by judge H. Ayvazyan, resumed examination of the RA Police claim on brining Gayane Arustamyan to administrative responsibility and Gayane Arustamyan’s counter-claim on declaring the RA Police actions unlawful.
The court hearing was attended by RA Police representative Sona Melikyan and G. Arustamyan’s representative, Tatevik Siradeghyan, lawyer at Yerevan Office of HCA Vanadzor.
Presiding judge H. Ayvazyan noted that S. Melikyan submitted to the Court the decree on discontinuing the proceedings of the criminal case investigated by the RA Special Investigation Service and the letter on its legal force of the Head of Staff of the General Jurisdiction Court of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun administrative districts of Yerevan city, RA.
At the same time, S. Melikyan noted that she submitted the decree as extra evidence and asked the Court to take it into account when making its judicial act.
In response to G. Arustamyan’s representative’s question, she clarified that it proved of the lawfulness of the police actions.
Considering the evidence obtained under the case examined, the Court passed to the stage of final speeches.
The Police representative insisted on her claim and expressed a conviction that the fact that G. Arustamyan insulted the police officer was proven and referred to the other cases on similar offences examined by the RA Administrative Court that made legal judicial acts which took effect and under which the offenders were brought to administrative responsibility. At the same time, S. Melikyan noted that there were no grounds to grant the counter-claim and therefore asked the Court to fully grant the RA Police claim and fully reject G. Arustamyan’s counter-claim.
In her final speech, G. Siradeghyan presented claims on the lack of any grounds to bring G. Arustamyan to administrative responsibility. She emphasized that the administrative offense records were drafted in violation of the law as they made no mention of the nature of the action committed by G. Arustamyan. Also, Article 172.3 of the RA Code of Administrative Offences does not make it possible to understand which action is considered insult and given this, the defendant’s actions were covered within her right to freedom of action; consequently, there are no grounds for bringing G. Arustamyan to administrative responsibility.
T. Siradeghyan also provided grounds that G. Arustamyan did not commit the action deliberately and noted that she did not know that phrase was addressed to the particular police officer or military police officer exercising his duties of maintaining the public order and public security.
In terms of the counter-claim, T. Siradeghyan noted that the counter-defendant, bearing the burden of proof, provided no grounds or evidence in support of lawfulness of the police actions.
And as for the RA Special Investigation Service investigator’s decree on discontinuing the criminal proceedings, she mentioned that it might not be observed as needing no proof and moreover, it was based on the internal conviction of the investigating body, which might not be identified as a court’s conviction. Moreover, the party must provide written evidence to establish a particular fact, and in this case it was provided to justify the lawfulness of the police actions.
Thus, T. Siradeghyan motioned to reject RA Police claim on bringing Gayane Arustamyan to administrative responsibility and fully grant Gayane Arustamyan’s claim on declaring the RA Police actions unlawful.
The Court considered the trial examination of the case completed and scheduled announcement of its judicial act for March 14, 2017, 5:30 pm.