Police of Spitak Patronize Individuals who violated the housing rights of residents
10:11, April 15, 2013 | Press Release | Right to Fair Trial, Right to Property | Police“Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation was established in 2003 (founders Robert Asmaryan, Varuzhan Apresyan, Vanik Asatryan, Arshaluys Asatryan, Garegin Dilbaryan, Rita Panosyan, Mher Aleksanyan), the goal of which is to ameliorate the social issues of Spitak residents as well as provide support to local authorities for the solution of the aforementioned issues.
On November 15, 2002, “Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation signed a contract with Spitak Municipality (the Municipality copy wasn’t preserved), pursuant to which, distribution of apartments should have been carried out in the order defined by N 432 decision of 10.06.1999. Having the current contract as basis, Spitak’s former Mayor Vanik Asatryan, who was in the meantime also the Chairman of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, by December 9, 2002 decision allocated an area of 2600 square kilometers located on Alek Manukyan street to the foundation, and a land of 2800 square kilometers on Shahumyan street by #3/1 decision on January 8, 2003 for construction of first and second groups of multi-unit residential buildings through the foundation’s financial sources respectively. However, this decision doesn’t foresee the specific right, whereby, the land was allocated to the foundation.
On December 18, 2002, Spitak Municipality signed contracts with 5 families from Spitak city (Robert Sargsi Hovakimyan, Sargis Roberti Hovakimyan, Karlen Saribeki Hovakimyan, Armen Karleni Hovakimyan, Garik Borisi Hovakimyan families), in compliance to which the aforementioned persons were undertook commitment to dismantle the metal container dwellings and improvised buildings owned by them and move to another territory by vacating the area of the to-be-build residential buildings. In the meantime, via the same contracts, Spitak Municipality undertook commitment to allocate apartments to the aforementioned families from the residential building to be constructed during 2002-2003.
July 30, 2010 deadline was set for “Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation to finalize the construction of the buildings. However, after the expiration of the set deadline, the construction of the multi-unit residential buildings remained unfinished. Instead of finalizing the construction of unfinished residential buildings, via donation agreements the Board of Trustees of “Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation liquidated them to other people, namely, Jonik Sargsi Dunamalyan, Tigran Lyovai Beghloyan, and Robert Mkrtchi Aghumyan. On top of breach of provisions, as prescribed by the RA Land Code, “Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation committed a deed prohibited by the RA Criminal Code during the aforementioned procedures. Specifically, as a result of violations on the part of Spitak’s former Mayor Vanik Asatryan and “Spitak Renaissance” foundation, substantial amount of property damage was caused to both of the contact parties: residents and the Municipality. Moreover, premeditation of Spitak’s former Mayor and the foundation chairman in the committed deed is confirmed by the circumstance that Head of the Foundation Board of Trustees and Spitak’s former Mayor is the same person, Vanik Asatryan. Hence, the latter, being Spitak’s Mayor and at the same time the Foundation chairman, via abusing his official position and powers, has illegally appropriated the land belonging to the Municipality by ownership right, as well as the multi-unit residential building constructed on it and has liquidated it to an unauthorized party. Being a stakeholder, Spitak’s former Mayor made a decision to allocate the land to the foundation during his office term and then being the Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, liquidated the unfinished multi-unit residential building along with the land to other parties.
The absence of a contract signed between Spitak Municipality and “Spitak Renaissance” foundation both in the Municipality, in the foundation and in the Spitak service center of RA Real Estate Cadastre also testifies to the existence of criminality in the committed deed.
Thus, it can be inferred that the contract prescribed the foundation’s limited right to dispose the land allocated by the Spitak Municipality and the constructed multi-unit residential buildings. On October 25, 2012 Armen Karleni Hovakimyan turned to Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor for the protection of his rights. The Organization reported a crime to RA Prosecutor General A. Hovsepyan. As a result of intervention by the Organization, it was revealed that over a year before the Organization reported on this case, materials had been compiled in the proceedings of V. Hakobyan, Senior investigator of Spitak Division of the RA Police, as a result of which a decision to refuse filing a criminal case was reached on February 16, 2012 due to absence of a crime. The circumstance that it was impossible to locate the contract signed between Spitak Municipality and “Spitak Renaissance” foundation on November 15, 2002 during the assembling of materials served as grounds for such a decision. Nonetheless, the body conducting proceedings didn’t undertake any measures regarding revelation of causes for absence of the contract. Based on the HCA Vanadzor report, K. Yarmaloyan, Police official on operative cases of Spitak Division of the Lori Region Department of the RA Police reached a decision to decline filing of the criminal case on the basis of the existence of a valid decision of refusing to initiate a criminal case over the same case.
On March 12, 2013 Armen Karleni Hovakimyan submitted an inquiry to A. Hayrapetyan, Chief of Spitak Division of the Lori Region Department of the RA Police with a request to provide the copy of the decision made as a result of compiled materials. On March 21, 2013, in response to the submitted inquiry, A. Hayrapetyan, Chief of Spitak Division of the Lori Region Department of the RA Police informed that providing the copy of the aforementioned decision to A. Hovakimyan was groundless and illegal, since the latter wasn’t the one, who directly reported the crime. Via this note, the latter denied the fact that materials were gathered in the V. Hakobyan’s proceedings based on the verbal information and complaints made by a number of Spitak residents at Lori Region Prosecutor’s office, confirmed both by 07.02.2013 and 16.02.2012 decision on declining to file a criminal case.
So, it turns out that V. Hakobyan, Senior investigator of Spitak Division of the Lori Region Department of the RA Police, K. Yarmaloyan, Police official on operative case and A. Hayrapetyan, Chief of the same department provided information over the same circumstance that not only differs but also contradicts, since, in one case it is confirmed that the materials were compiled based on the inquiry received from Lori Region Prosecutor’s office , while in the other case, the existence of the aforementioned inquiry is totally denied.
During the preparation of the materials, V. Hakobyan, Senior investigator of Spitak Division of Lori region Department of the RA Police initiated a number of other violations, namely, on his own initiative the latter planned to notify Armen Karleni Hovakimyan, Robert Sargsi Hovakimyan, Sargis Roberti Hovakimyan, Karlen Saribeki Hovakimyan, Garik Borisi Hovakimyan families about the decision. However, in fact V. Hakobyan didn’t meet the demand of his decision, that is, he didn’t notify the above-mentioned citizens about his decision. The aforementioned citizens are considered an aggrieved party over the case, since as a result of unlawful acts and alleged crime their ownership right was violated by causing material damage.
The body conducting the proceedings should have got explanations form the aforementioned individuals during the preparation of case-related materials. Moreover, V. Hakobyan didn’t ignore the fact that Armen Karleni Hovakimyan, Robert Sargsi Hovakimyan, Sargis Roberti Hovakimyan, Karlen Saribeki Hovakimyan, Garik Borisi Hovakimyan families were parties linked with the case, since, as already noted, he planned to also notify the aforementioned families about his decision.
Hence, it is obvious that Spitak Division of Lori Region Department of the RA Police (particularly, Senior investigator V. Hakobyan) has conducted an improper investigation over the dead, posing public danger, committed by founders of “Spitak Renaissance” Charitable foundation Robert Asmaryan and Vanik Asatryan (meantime Spitak’s former Mayor) as well as other members of the Foundations Board of Trustees by concealing the case-related facts.