Protesters not warned about application of special measures
18:10, April 17, 2018 | News, Other news
Throughout the entire day, the police warned that they would have to put an end to the assembly by force, and special measures were applied in the evening. According to the information of the Ministry of Healthcare, 46 citizens turned to medical institutions in Yerevan for medical assistance; 4 of these citizens were police officers. It is not reported officially whether the application of special measures was the cause of the injuries.
According to the information of the Ministry, in general, those persons have superficial injuries of lower limbs. One of the police officers, who was in the worst condition, underwent surgery due to a vein cut. According to the information disseminated among those assembled on Baghramyan Avenue, the police used Zarya stun grenades against the peaceful protesters. Stun grenades are used by the police to suppress the offenders’ psychological stability through an unexpected sound and light effect. These main factors of influence lead to persons near the epicenter of the explosion being temporarily blinded or deafened, losing the ability to resist. One can get soft tissue damage, hemorrhages and other mechanical injuries.
HCA Vanadzor Chairman Artur Sakunts, who was on Baghramyan Avenue at the moment of the explosions, in response to the questions of Forrights.am, said, “There is no ground for applying special measures. First, the citizens should have been informed about them before their application; second, there had to be real mass disorders or an attack against the police officers, armed resistance and so forth; and in this case were just standing peacefully when they started throwing grenades.”
According to the human rights defender, the police actions were unlawful. “I hold that criminal cases should be initiated in connection with exceeding and abusing official powers as well as using disproportionate force.”
It should be recalled that on March 1, 2018, Hamlet Tadevosyan, Police captain and Commander of the 1st company of the motor-rifle battalion, died as a result of the use of Zarya grenades. According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination, the damage on H. Tadevosyan’s clothes was fragmentary and was caused by the explosion of an explosive device with a solid covering subject to fragmentation. The device exploded near H. Tadevosyan’s feet.
Later, during the judicial proceedings on Nikol Pashinyan’s case /on March 1 he was charged with organizing mass disorders/, defense attorneys Lusine Sahakyan and Yervand Varosyan proved that Hamlet Tadevosyan was killed by a Zarya grenade thrown by the police officers.
Yervand Varosyan posted on his Facebook page today: the police have not learnt how to apply special measures since 2008.