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On July 6, 2015, the HCA Vanadzor filed a crime report to the RA Prosecutor General on initiating criminal proceedings against the chiefs and officials of the RA Police Nor-Nork and Malatia departments. On June 23, 2015, at about 5:30-6:00 am, the police exerted violence against peaceful electricity rate hike protesters by using water cannons. As a result, a number of protesters with bodily injuries of various gravity degrees were taken to hospital and 237 persons were apprehended to various police departments through kidnapping.

The police officers illegally deprived the demonstrators of their liberty, as well as questioned them as witnesses and kept with this status for 13 hours at the Nor-Nork police department and for 9 hours at the Malatia police department and seized their cell phones. The apprehended persons had to wait for hours for their turn to be questioned as witnesses and subsequently were taken in groups to the RA Republican Narcological Clinic to undergo expert examination as suspects, whereas they were not informed that they were involved as such.

The HCA Vanadzor commissioned lawyers Artur Harutyunyan and Anahit Chilingaryan, members of the RA Chamber of Advocates, to restore the violated rights of the peaceful protesters. They visited the RA Police Malatia and Nor-Nork Departments to provide legal aid to the apprehended persons, but their activities were obstructed, and it took them considerable time to be permitted to meet the persons in need of their aid. The lawyers arrived at the RA Police Malatia Department on June 23, at about 2:30 pm; there were over 20 apprehended persons there.

Lawyers A. Harutyunyan and A. Chilingaryan were not immediately permitted to see their clients. They could enter the police premises only some time later. A. Harutyunyan and A. Chilingaryan acted as advocates of Tigran Hakobyan and Davit Selimyan and attended the questioning of the latter. As for T. Hakobyan, he had been questioned before the lawyers arrived. The lawyers arrived at the Nor-Nork Police Department on June 23, at about 5:30 pm, however, were not immediately permitted to meet their clients.

At the police precinct, the lawyers were advised to wait for the police to obtain some further information. As this process lasted too long, the lawyers contacted the RA Ombudsman’s Office and with its help were eventually invited to the deputy chief of the RA Police Nor-Nork Department who outlined to them the situation at the police department related to persons apprehended during the dispersion of the rally. He also stated that the RA Prosecutor’s Office initiated criminal proceedings under Article 258 (hooliganism).

Based on this, the HCA Vanadzor filed 2 crime reports to the RA Prosecutor General to initiate criminal proceedings against the chiefs and officials of the Nor-Nork and Malatia Police Departments on the grounds that the police officers illegally kept the persons apprehended on June 23, 2015 at the Nor-Nork Police Department for 13 hours and at the Malatia Department for 9 hours and obstructed the exercise of the powers by members of the Chamber of Advocates, A. Harutyunyan and A. Chilingaryan.