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As already reported, on September 28, 2015, HCA Vanadzor filed a crime report with the RA Prosecutor General’s Office and RA Special Investigation Service, based on the media report entitled “Out of here, or you’ll lose your uterus!” Another incident with Sashik Sargsyan” posted by hraparak.am news website on September 18, 2015.

Having received for 3 months no information on the decision based on the crime report, on December 23, 2015, HCA Vanadzor filed a complaint to the RA Prosecutor General requiring that he compelled S. Nazaryan, Investigator at Investigative Division of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan Investigative Department, RA Investigative Committee to send his decree on the crime report to the person who submitted it.

In response to the application above, on January 15, 2016, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office sent the Organization a copy of the decree on initiating criminal proceedings dated October 14, 2015 stating that based on the Organization’s crime report, the RA Police General Department for Combating Organized Crime prepared relevant materials. In the meantime, measures were taken to verify the information in the media release. Particularly, it was mentioned that the editor-in-chief of Hraparak daily refused to give any explanations and disclose the data of the person who had provided the editorial staff with relevant information. Also, explanations were received from the employees of the café mentioned in the media report (it is noteworthy that “Coffee Story” is mentioned instead of “Coffee Shop”), as well as from the employees of other public places nearby and dwellers of the residential premises in the area who kept dogs. They refuted the information in the media report above. At the same time, the decree on initiating criminal proceedings has no mention of receiving any explanation from Sashik Sargsyan.

As mentioned in the decree above, the media report contained a prima facie evidence of false crime reporting, and therefore, on October 14, 2015, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office Department for High-Profile Cases initiated criminal proceedings under Article 333(1) of the RA Criminal Code (False crime reporting).

It should be added that in the stage of preparing materials following the crime report by HCA Vanadzor, it was decided to apprehend Artur Sakunts, Chairman of the Organization to provide explanation to the competent agencies.

In its letter, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office stated that the decision taken based on the crime report was not sent in due time to the person who submitted the report since the criminal proceedings were initiated on another crime, rather than on the information in the crime report.

In fact, the competent agencies, in violation of numerous provisions of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, failed to decide on the crime report submitted by HCA Vanadzor and provide their decision to the person who submitted such report; instead, they initiated criminal proceedings under Article 333 of the RA Criminal Code (False crime reporting).

HCA Vanadzor referred to the vicious practice above, among others, in its Statement entitled ‘Stop Obvious Pressures on Human Rights Activities.”