Police officer declared victim under ‘Sari Tagh’ case shot in the air by order of a superior officer whom he did not know (Video)
18:05, June 30, 2017 | News, Own news | Sasna Tsrer
On June 13, 2017 the General Jurisdiction Court of Erebuni and Nubarashen administrative districts resumed questioning of the police officers declared victims after ‘Sari Tagh’ incidents.
Note that protesters Hrachya Boyajyan, Arman Adamyan and Zhora Avetisyan are charged with using violence against RA Police officers under Article 316(2) of the RA Criminal Code.
Hrachya Boyajyan’s interests are represented by Arayik Zalyan, lawyer at HCA Vanadzor.
The Court heard the testimonies of victims A. Tirabyan, who was during those incidents the inspector at Erebuni Division of RA Police Yerevan City Department, and H. Hovsepyan, who was a senior police officer at the Guard and Patrol Service regiment.
According to the testimonies, on the day of the incident, they carried out their service in the nearby street and due to the situation, moved to the area adjacent to Khorenatsi and Glinka Streets in Yerevan.
In their testimonies, both of them stated that the residents of Sari Tagh district raised their household problems and demanded to restore their water, gas and electricity supply and transport communication in their district.
- Tirabyan mentioned that when a stone thrown by the protesters reached his leg, he got an order from his superior officer to shoot, and he made 8 shots “in the air”. As he was asked who exactly ordered him to shoot, he said that he did not know that man.
- Hovsepyan, another victim under the case, mentioned in his testimony that he stayed in the protest area for some 2-3 minutes and then at a distance of some 20 meters form the protesters he could smell some alcohol. As he was asked why he was sure that the smell of alcohol came from the protesters, H. Hovsepyan answered that police officers did not use alcohol during work hours.
The questioned police officers also argued that police officers neither used violence against any journalist, nor interfered with their activities, nor seized their video cameras. However, a video shared a few days after the incident clearly shows how police officers attacked the journalists and seized their video devices.
The said video also clearly shows that a plain-clothes man with an assault rifle in his hand appeared in the protest area, but the questioned police officers had no information about that either and insisted that they did not see the man with an assault rifle.
The video shows the man staying in a place visible for the police officers and then going to a car and getting into it. In such a situation, it was impossible not to notice him, the more so considering that it is the duty of police officers to ensure the public safety.
At the court hearing scheduled for June 29, 2017, at 2 pm, the Court will continue questioning the police officers declared victims.
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