Human rights activists consider the use of special means excessive
12:43, August 5, 2016 | News, Other news
Human rights activists consider excessive the use of special means by the police against the protesters in Sari Tagh district in the evening of July 29.
The official police documents cover specific provisions on the application of the special means, which, according to human rights activists, remained on the paper at the protest in Sari Tagh district of July 29.
According to the Guide on Application of Special Means approved in 2011, they shall be applied in extreme cases rather than at peaceful protests.
Human rights activist Vardan Harutyunyan considers the police actions of that day in Sari Tagh district excessive: “They used excessive force without any justification. If the citizens of your country protest and hold a peaceful demonstration, a peaceful protest and if it’s obvious that there are no weapons, no truncheons or any other arms, and if the organizers or leaders of the protest publicly state that the protest is peaceful and spontaneous, … and you order the police of your country to use manifestly against the peaceful protestors special means, truncheons and various weapons, this means that you’ve already realized that there are no other ways for you to stay in this country, you’ve already realized that you can stay only with the use of arms and force and you display your arms and force.”
“The police is speaking. Stop the mass riots and leave the area, or special means will be applied!” this is the text to be read out by the police before using the special means.
“However, no such statement was issued on that day”, recalls human rights activist and journalist Levon Barseghyan, “I cannot remember any public statement by a megaphone or a microphone that “we will apply special means”, I can’t remember that, I haven’t heard that. There are some live broadcasts among the videos, and I haven’t noticed any such statement.”
On that day, as the protesters marched to Sari Tagh district in support of ‘Sasna Tsrer’ armed group, Levon Barseghyan, ‘Heritage’ (‘Zharangutyun’) party representatives Armen Martirosyan and Zaruhi Postanjyan were trying to hold negotiations with the Deputy Chief of RA Police and Chief of Police of Yerevan. However, a few minutes after Deputy Chief of Police Levon Yeranosyan hurt deputy of the National Assembly Zaruhi Postanjyan, shots were heard; the police applied the special means.
By invoking the Law on Police and Police Guide on Application of Special Means, human rights activist Artur Sakunts said that at peaceful assemblies the police must resort to special means, including flash-bang grenades, exceptionally in the cases when there are mass riots and they come out of control and cannot be prevented without special means. “They hurt the citizens fallen on the ground, entered the houses. And those atrocities committed by them were excessive as compared to the nature of the peaceful assembly. “
Both the witnesses of the incidents in Sari Tagh district, and the videos prove that before applying the special means, plain-clothes persons threw stones at the police officers. “And instead of restraining them, the police directs its force on peaceful protesters”, Levon Barseghyan recalls, “The attack, application of those special means, throwing them on the houses and yards, burning them and other actions, all those violent acts, plus the attack of the plain-clothes “beasts” were committed on the police order to attack.”
Artur Sakunts emphasized that according to the official police documents, special means must not be applied to minors and must not inflict severe injuries. Whereas due to the application of special means, on July 29 at least 2 civilians, including the non-protestor 17-year-old adolescent who lost an eye, sustained severe injuries. On that day, more than 60 civilians were hospitalized with burns.
“The Guide clearly reads: “Make sure that the damages inflicted are as minimal as possible, as those special means may injure people,” Sakunts added.
The human rights activists recall the application of special means during the March 1 protests 8 years ago that caused the death of 3 people.
In response to the inquiry of ‘Azatutyun’ (‘Liberty’), Ashot Aharonyan, Press Spokesman for the Police, responded that the list of the applied special means would be disclosed by August 13 based on the initial findings of the command investigation by the Police.
“As for the grounds, conditions and limits for using force, as well as the questions on the causes of the actions of the police officers and damages inflicted to the health of people, they can be answered only through the findings of an impartial and comprehensive investigation”, Aharonyan added.
Human rights activist Vardan Harutyunyan expects no impartial investigation on the part of the law enforcement officers, “Everyone knows this. I can say surely that both the international organizations, and the diplomatic corps of various countries will react and condemn these steps. That is to say, only the Armenian authorities will think that they have done everything in the right way.”
For the video, see here