SIS has no intention to launch criminal proceedings against chief of police
18:31, August 22, 2014 | News, Own news | Police
The Special Investigation Service has no intention to launch criminal proceedings upon the recent statements by Shant Harutyunyan, Leader of Tseghakron (Etho-Religious) Party, and by freedom fighter Vardan Vardanyan. The Special Investigation Service informed about it Lragir.am in response to its written inquiry.
Note that during the recent court hearings, Shant Harutyunyan and Vardan Vardanyan testified having suffered violence upon being apprehended to the police station during the protest action in Mashtots Avenue on November 5 of previous year.
Shant Harutyunyan claimed being hit at the police station also by Vladimir Gasparyan, Chief of Police.
In court, Vardan Vardanyan stated that he had suffered beating by Chief of Police Vladimir Gasparyan. He claimed that 5 other persons held him, while the Chief of Police, along with other police officers, beat him. According to Vardaan Vardanyan, it was then that he was threatened and therefore, had to give contradictory testimonies: “They told me: “Your son is a serviceman, and we will harm him”. Under such threats, I would sign any paper.”
“Back in November 2013, Nikol Pashinyan, Deputy to the National Assembly, submitted a note to the Special Investigation Service on Shant Harutyunyan’s report about suffering violence at the hand of the RA Chief of Police Vladimir Gasparyan. However, the Special Investigation Service dismissed launching a criminal case by the materials prepared under the pretext of the absence of the crime. “According to Article 21 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, no other proceedings shall be launched upon another similar statement”, reads the written reply of the SIS to Lragir.am.
In its inquiry, Lragir.am also raised the statement by Vardan Vardanyan. The statement in question was an unprecedented one as the freedom fighter had never mentioned suffering violence at the hand of Vladimir Gasparyan before. Nevertheless, the SIS evaded the issue on launching proceedings following his statement.
“Vardan Vardanyan had not made any such statements before. At any rate, the Special Investigation Service must consider his recent report. While in their general reply, the SIS officials claim having considered this issue, it is only recently that Vardan Vardanyan has made such a statement”, said advocate Inessa Petrosyan to Lragir.am.
She noted that the Special Investigation Service ignored the fact that at first, Shant Harutyunyan exercised his right not to give any explanations, but now he and Vardan Vardanyan have made a statement.
“The SIS already can consider the statement as a new fact of case, restart the case proceedings and seek new explanations. The persons in question have made a statement only now since they had their own reasons not to talk about it before, as the preliminary investigation was conducted by the police. The matter was they did not trust the agency responsible for preliminary investigation and merely did not wish to voice that issue then. Now they have spoken up about it all”, said the advocate.
Inessa Petrosyan also noted that such practices had not come as a surprise to them and they expected the SIS to give a similar answer. The advocate will further discuss the issue with her clients. In case Vardan Vardanyan and Shant Harutyunyan agree, they might submit a crime report to the SIS. However, Inessa Petrosyan does not rule out the possibility that the SIS might dismiss instigating the case on the same grounds.
“Such practices show apparent inaction and concealment of crime,” said human rights defender Artur Sakunts as he defined the conduct of the Special Investigative Service. He mentioned that the SIS had all the necessary grounds to launch criminal proceedings.
The human rights defender also recalled some criminal proceedings launched upon relevant statements in the court of law. “Anything a person testifies at the trial is considered a testimony, i.e. a testimony recorded in the protocol of the court hearing. They do not initiate proceedings deliberately, since he issue relates to the Chief of Police, Vova Gasparyan”, stated Sakunts.
He also added that apart from Vardan Vardanyan’s statement, Shant Harutyunyan’s son, Shahen Harutyunyan, made a totally unprecedented statement at a recent trial. Shahen Harutyunyan claimed being informed at the police station that his father and his friends had died. “This is a completely new fact. Has SIS examined and established this fact as well? Vardan Vardanyan’s statement is recent, too and must be duly processed,” said Artur Sakunts.
This article was written under the HCA Vanadzor Project on Development of Control Mechanisms over the RA Special Investigation Service, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Security Service as a Guarantee for Prevention of Human Rights Violations in the Republic of Armenia.
This article was prepared by Rosa Hovhannisyan, journalist for Lragir.am.