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9 criminal cases have been initiated (or have been included in the already initiated criminal cases) on the basis of the 19 crime reports submitted by Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor in connection with the cases of police officers and persons in civilian clothing using violence against participants in the non-violent, peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience from April 17 to 25, 2018 and journalists covering those events as well as hindering the movement of protesters.

5 reports have been sent to the relevant subdivisions of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office; 3 reports have been sent to the Internal Security Department of the RA Police, and 2 reports have been sent to the RA Special Investigation Service. In addition, materials have been prepared with regard to 1 report. A decision has been made pertaining to the rejection of a criminal case based on 1 report.

Criminal cases have been initiated under Article 164 § 1 of the RA Criminal Code on the basis of the 2 reports submitted by HCA Vanadzor with regard to the forceful obstruction of the professional activity of journalists.

One of these cases refers to the use of violence against Arevik Sahakyan, who is the editor-in-chief of the news website factor.am, at the intersection of Mashtots Avenue and Tumanyan Street on the night between April 17 and 18, 2018, and against the operator that came to her rescue. The second case refers to the use of violence against Arus Hakobyan, a journalist at Radio Liberty (Azatutyun) on the road to Artashat on April 21.

The RA Special Investigation Service is to conduct investigation in the framework of the criminal case initiated in connection with the police officers present at the scene not intervening in violence used against journalist Arus Hakobyan.

We have submitted 3 reports on the obstruction of the participation in protests.

One of the submitted crime reports refers to keeping the students of Yerevan School No 152 locked in (http://archive.hcav.am/events/25-04-2018-012/); the second one refers to Governor of Armavir Region Ashot Ghahramanyan instructing the heads of the villages to disallow student strikes (https://bit.ly/2I8Jufp), while the third one refers to the Masis Town Council and police officers hindering the march of the residents of Hovtashen and Khatunarkh villages to Yerevan.

In the first 2 cases, the reports were sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Administrative District of Malatia-Sebastia in Yerevan and the Prosecutor’s Office of Armavir Region respectively. Later, we received a decision on not initiating a criminal case on the basis of the report on keeping the students of Yerevan School No 152 locked in.

The report on hindering the march of the residents of Hovtashen and Khatunarkh villages to Yerevan was included in the criminal case initiated in the Masis Investigative Division of the Investigative Committee.

2 cases have been submitted in connection with the detention of peaceful protesters without lawful grounds.

The report on nearly two dozens of peaceful protesters being detained without lawful grounds and put into a police bus on April 17 (https://www.facebook.com/azatutyun/videos/1897618636950171) have been sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan.

The report submitted on the basis of the alert on detaining six youths on Frik Street in Yerevan without any lawful grounds and taking them away in a yellow VAZ-2124 with 34 TM 967 on the state license plate has been sent to the Internal Security Department of the RA Police.

One report has been submitted with respect to police officers applying special measures in violation of safety rules, as a result of which 46 persons got fragmentary injuries on April 16, 2018. The RA Military Prosecutor’s Office informed that materials had been being prepared at the Division of the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the General Military Department of the RA Investigative Committee since April 25, 2018.

The other reports refer to the cases of police officers and persons in civilian clothing using violence against peaceful protesters.

The report on protesters being beaten up in front of police officers on Yerevan’s Heratsi Street on April 16, 2018 (http://archive.hcav.am/events/18-04-2018-07/) has been sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts with regard to subjecting to liability the citizens carrying out the beating and to the RA Special Investigative Service with regard to giving a legal assessment to the inaction of the police officers.

We are informed from the official website of the RA Prosecutor General’s Office that the RA Prosecutor General reversed the preliminary decision on rejecting the initiation of a criminal case and initiated a criminal case under Article 258 § 3 (1) of the RA Criminal Code.

Another report has been submitted with the demand to subject to liability the persons in civilian clothing who attacked peaceful protesters, getting out of a Toyota Corolla with CE. 109C on its foreign license plate on Yerevan’s Aivazovsky Street on April 20. The report has been sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebuni and Nubarashen Administrative Districts of Yerevan.

Another report has been submitted on the actions of the lieutenant colonel who demanded to cease the demonstration, threatening and swearing at the protesters on April 20.

The Internal Security Department of the RA Police informs that, by the order of the RA Chief of Police, Police Lieutenant Colonel Armen Hayrapetyan, Deputy Head of the Service of the Hrazdan Division of the Regional Kotayk Department of the RA Police, has been subjected to disciplinary liability for violation of the ethical code of conduct of the police.

A criminal case has been initiated at the Nor Nork Division of the RA Police under Article 258 § 3 (1) of the RA Criminal Code on the basis of the report on the actions of the citizens who brutally beat up a participant in the car procession on the same day (https://youtu.be/vI_k3I4Rsow). Along with a number of other criminal cases, it is to be investigated at the Investigative Division of Avan and Nor Nork Administrative Districts of the RA Investigative Committee.

In response to the report on the actions of the persons attempting to get a protester into a Nissan VAR 0001 car on April 20, 2018, the Erebuni Division of the Yerevan City Department of the RA Police informed that the report had been included in the criminal case initiated on the incident under Article 34-131 § 2 (1, 4) of the RA Criminal Code.

On May 17, 2018, the Investigative Division of the Avan and Nor Nork Administrative Districts of the Yerevan City Department of the RA Investigative Committee informed that a criminal case was initiated on May 11 on the grounds of the acts of hooliganism committed by a group of persons or an organized group (Article 258 Part 3 Point 1 of the RA Criminal Code).

The report on a Nissa Toda car belonging to a protester being damaged by police officers on one of the streets in Yerevan on April 21 as well as the report on the issue of giving a legal assessment to the actions of the police officer who hit a female protester with his shield, while detaining her (https://youtu.be/Mho_aQvwpDw) have been included in the relevant criminal cases initiated at the RA Special Investigation Service.

In response to the report on the issue of giving a legal assessment to the actions of the police officers who damaged a BMW car on April 20, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office informed that the report had been sent to the Internal Security Department of the RA Police.

HCA Vanadzor has submitted a report on the incident of protesting minors being beaten in Kartshaghbyur village in Gegharkunik Region on April 25. We should recall that there was an alert according to which people sent by the head of the village beat up the protesters; however, later, head of the village Taron Kocharyan denied any links with what had occurred (http://archive.hcav.am/events/25-04-2018-98/). The report has been sent to the Prosecutor’s Office of Gegharkunik Region.

In response to the report submitted with the demand to subject to liability the red beret-wearing officer who used violence against the citizen who was being detained on April 22, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office informed that a preliminary investigation was being carried out in the framework of the criminal case initiated under Article 308 § 1, Article 309 § 2 and Article 164 § 3 of the RA Criminal Code.

One report was submitted in connection with holding detained persons in police stations for longer than the established period of time and obstructing the activity of the advocates visiting the police stations to provide the detainees with legal support. With regard to the police officers carrying out unlawful actions, the report has been sent to the RA Special Investigative Service, and, with regard to holding the detainees for longer than the established period of time, it has been sent to the Internal Security Department.

In response to the inquiries by HCA Vanadzor, the RA Prosecutor General’s Office informed that, during the period from April 13 to May 3, 2018, 50 criminal cases were initiated under Articles 258, 316, 185, 164, 225 and 309 of the RA Criminal Code.

97 persons were arrested; charges were brought against 33 of them; 9 were put into custody. As of May 8, those arrested and put into custody were released.

The RA Special Investigation Service informed that, at the SIS, there are proceedings of 11 cases relating to the protest actions that started from April 13, 2018. Those cases have been initiated under 225, 225.1, 164, 308 and 309 of the RA Criminal Code. They have been joined into 2 criminal cases.

The RA Police informed that, during the period from April 16 to 26, 2018, 1283 persons were detained and taken to police divisions; 1144 were detained in Yerevan. Administrative proceedings were conducted against 918 persons under Articles 182 and 180.1 of the Administrative Procedure Code of the RA.

35 criminal cases have been initiated from the 128 prepared materials; in 13 cases, the initiation of criminal cases has been rejected; 67 have been sent to preliminary investigation bodies, and 13 are under way.

We expect that the investigation of the initiated criminal cases will lead to the identification of the guilty and the imposition of relevant punishment, and it will not suffer the fate of the cases of protesters and residents affected by police actions in Sari Tagh.