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Photo by asekose.am

The criminal cases initiated on the basis of obstructing journalists’ legal professional activities and apprehending various people to police stations by causing injuries and violence through abuse of power by police officers in Sari Tagh district, Khorenatsi Street and adjacent areas in Yerevan city on July 29-30, 2016 were united in one case. The criminal case initiated on apprehending M. Panosyan from Sayat-Nova Street of Yerevan city in the period above and using violence against him at the police station was also joined to the 2 cases above.

A. Sakunts, Chairman of HCA Vanadzor, protects the interests of the victim under the criminal case.

He submitted a motion on assigning an expert examination to find out whether there were any narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance in the bodies of the police officers on service during the assemblies held in Yerevan on July 17-30, 2016. The motion referred to Lragir.am website’s publication that the plain-clothes police officers took some pills, which was also obvious in the videos of azatutyun.am.

However, the investigative agency considered the motion unfounded and rejected it.

Interestingly, the grounds of this decree state that there is no evidence that the plain-clothes men in the video are police officers or that they took any pills.

The RA Special Investigative Service adds that the persons passing through the police chain were not identified and therefore, it is impossible for them to undergo the expert examination above.

It should be added that azatutyun.am showed live the incidents above and it was clear even by a naked eye that a group of plain-clothes persons most likely took some pills and passed through the police chain whereas no assembly participant or journalist might even come near the police chain. Moreover, the video clearly shows the faces of those persons and their identification should not be particularly difficult.