Competent authorities show a differentiated approach: obvious reprisal against protesters
10:56, December 23, 2016 | News, Own news | Sasna Tsrer
As reported before, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor is engaged with protection of the rights of the participants of assemblies following the seizure of the RA Police patrol and guard service regiment on July 17, 2016 by ‘Sasna Tsrer’ group and the persons illegally apprehended to the police divisions.
Assembly participants Hovhannes Ghazaryan and Gagik Mikayelyan were charged under Article 225(2) of the RA Criminal Code, i.e. for committing violence… and armed resistance to the representative of the authorities during mass riots by their participants, and Hrachya Boyajyan was charged under Article 316(2) of the RA Criminal Code, i.e. for committing violence against police officers namely by throwing at them stones and other things.
The former charges are punished by imprisonment of 3-8 years and the latter ones – by imprisonment of up to 5 years.
On both cases there have been numerous publications by lawyers that the charges brought against the detained persons were false and baseless.
And there is no progress in the cases of the persons affected by police actions in the same period, whereas the illegal actions of police officers are obvious; a large number of protesters were illegally apprehended to police divisions and even to the police interior troops military unit, kept there for hours, tortured and subjected to violence.
Peaceful civilians of Sari Tagh district, including women and minor children were also affected.
In response to the inquiries by Tatevik Siradeghyan, Lawyer at Yerevan Office of HCA Vanadzor, Arayik Zalyan, Syuzanna Soghomonyan and Ani Chatinyan, attorneys at HCA Vanadzor, and attorney Artur Harutyunyan, involved by HCA Vanadzor, representing Movses Shahverdyan, Hovhannes Harutyunyan and Silva Arshakyan who suffered from the police actions, the RA Special Investigation Service stated that no one was charged under the criminal cases initiated on using violence against various persons in Sari Tagh district and adjacent areas with abuse of power by the police.
By this behavior, the competent authorities show an obviously differentiated approach by trying once again to cover up the incidents of crime by police officers and silence by a logically opposite approach the voices of the persons who dared to take to streets and exercise their rights enshrined in the Constitution.
This is an obvious reprisal at national level against protesters.