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STILL NO CASE FOR BEATEN ARMENIAN ACTIVISTS
http://asbarez.com/113768/still-no-case-for-beaten-armenian-activists/
Wednesday, September 11th, 2013
Yerevan Police Department
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The Armenian police said on Wednesday that they have
still not launched formal criminal proceedings in connection with
last week's assault on two prominent civil society activists which
was strongly condemned by local and international human rights groups.
Haykak Arshamian and Suren Saghatelian were beaten up by several
unidentified men and hospitalized late on September 5 shortly after
attending a demonstration against Armenia's membership in a Russian-led
customs union. The incident took place in the courtyard of Arshamian's
apartment building in central Yerevan.
A spokesman told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that
the police are continuing to investigate the beating but have not
yet opened a formal criminal case, something which is necessary for
arresting and charging suspects. The official insisted that this must
not be construed as a cover-up.
Arshamian, who is a program coordinator at the Yerevan Press Club,
dismissed these assurances, saying that the police are not willing
to solve the case because they realize that government authorities
may have been behind the beating. He argued that there are many
surveillance cameras on the street leading to his neighborhood and
that police investigators could have easily located the car which
he and Saghatelian say followed them on that night. "They are not
motivated to solve the case," claimed Arshamian.
The high-profile beating was the latest in a series of violent attacks
on activists challenging the Armenian government. At least six young
men participating in an ongoing sit-in outside the Yerevan Mayor's
Office have assaulted by unknown thugs since the end of August.
Reacting to the latest incident, more than 30 Armenian non-governmental
organizations signed a joint letter asking the UN Office of the
Commissioner for Human Rights to help stop what they described
as systematic violence against individuals critical of the
government. They claimed that the violent attacks are the work of
"criminal elements" acting with the connivance of the police.
Amnesty International demanded last week that the Armenian authorities
investigate the September 5 attack "impartially and effectively." "The
authorities are obliged to promote the rights to freedom of expression,
assembly and association. Only an effective investigation will
demonstrate that they take their human rights obligations seriously,"
the London-based group's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia,
Denis Krivosheev, said in a statement.
http://asbarez.com/113768/still-no-case-for-beaten-armenian-activists/
Wednesday, September 11th, 2013
Yerevan Police Department
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The Armenian police said on Wednesday that they have
still not launched formal criminal proceedings in connection with
last week's assault on two prominent civil society activists which
was strongly condemned by local and international human rights groups.
Haykak Arshamian and Suren Saghatelian were beaten up by several
unidentified men and hospitalized late on September 5 shortly after
attending a demonstration against Armenia's membership in a Russian-led
customs union. The incident took place in the courtyard of Arshamian's
apartment building in central Yerevan.
A spokesman told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that
the police are continuing to investigate the beating but have not
yet opened a formal criminal case, something which is necessary for
arresting and charging suspects. The official insisted that this must
not be construed as a cover-up.
Arshamian, who is a program coordinator at the Yerevan Press Club,
dismissed these assurances, saying that the police are not willing
to solve the case because they realize that government authorities
may have been behind the beating. He argued that there are many
surveillance cameras on the street leading to his neighborhood and
that police investigators could have easily located the car which
he and Saghatelian say followed them on that night. "They are not
motivated to solve the case," claimed Arshamian.
The high-profile beating was the latest in a series of violent attacks
on activists challenging the Armenian government. At least six young
men participating in an ongoing sit-in outside the Yerevan Mayor's
Office have assaulted by unknown thugs since the end of August.
Reacting to the latest incident, more than 30 Armenian non-governmental
organizations signed a joint letter asking the UN Office of the
Commissioner for Human Rights to help stop what they described
as systematic violence against individuals critical of the
government. They claimed that the violent attacks are the work of
"criminal elements" acting with the connivance of the police.
Amnesty International demanded last week that the Armenian authorities
investigate the September 5 attack "impartially and effectively." "The
authorities are obliged to promote the rights to freedom of expression,
assembly and association. Only an effective investigation will
demonstrate that they take their human rights obligations seriously,"
the London-based group's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia,
Denis Krivosheev, said in a statement.