More than three months ago a criminal case was initiated and then terminated in connection with the threats addressed to Mher Arshakyan; however, HCA Vanadzor received the decision only after the second inquiry
10:54, February 7, 2018 | News, Own news | Right to Fair Trial
On October 24, 2017 a criminal case was initiated on the basis of the crime report submitted by HCA Vanadzor in regard to the threats towards journalist and publicist Mher Arshakyan. Two months later the criminal case was terminated.
We were informed of this through A. Mnatsakanyan’s (Prosecutor of the SIS (Special Investigation Service) Department of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office) response addressed to HCA Vanadzor.
On October 4, 2017 HCA Vanadzor filed a crime report after a Facebook user made the following threat towards Mher Arshakyan in the comments to the latter’s article titled “Gorik Hakobyan – the Monster”, published on the news website medialab.am following Gorik Hakobyan’s (fomer Head of the National Security Service) death: “Hug your family goodbye every morning before you leave home. You, loser bastard, won’t get away with this article.”
Following the submission of a crime report, HCA Vanadzor had not received the decision made on the basis of it. And three months after the submission of the report, the Organization turned to RA Prosecutor General A. Davtyan with regard to the receipt of the decision.
In response to that, A. Mnatsakanyan, Prosecutor of the SIS Department of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office, informed that on October 24, 2017 a criminal case was initiated under Article 137 § 1 of the RA Criminal Code (threat to murder, to inflict grave damage to one’s health or to destroy property). The case was sent to the investigation department of the Avan and Nor Nork Administrative Districts of the RA Investigative Committee.
There, “taking into account that the person subject to being involved as the accused was not identified following the investigative actions implemented and the operative-investigative measures undertaken during the preliminary investigation of the criminal case, on December 22, 2017 the body conducting the proceedings made the decision [….] to terminate the criminal proceedings.
Although the crime report contained specific details on the person who had voiced threats, the law enforcement bodies failed to “identify the person subject to being involved as the accused”, which serves as evidence that the RA Investigative Committee did not have enough will to find the latter.
It should be added that the criminal case was initiated on October 24, 2017 and terminated two months later; however, HCA Vanadzor received the decision on the initiation of the criminal case through the response dated January 26, 2018 only after turning to the RA General Prosecutor’s Office for the second time.