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ARMENIANS SAY COMPATRIOT'S MISTREATMENT REVEALS RUSSIAN PREJUDICE
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #695
July 24 2013
Fears that discriminatory attitudes in Russia will deny compatriot of
fair trial in fatal crash case.
By Gohar Abrahamyan - Caucasus
Angry protests have been held outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan
over the public humiliation of an Armenian man arrested after his
truck was involved in a fatal accident near Moscow.
Eighteen people died when Hrachya Harutyunyan's truck collided with
a bus on July 13 near the town of Podolsk, just outside the Russian
capital.
Harutyunyan was one of dozens of survivors taken to hospital. Police
then took him from the hospital to court, where Russian television
showed him unshaven and wearing a woman's housecoat as charges of
causing death by dangerous driving were read out.
About 20 Armenian journalists wrote to their colleagues in the Russian
Union of Journalists to complain of prejudicial coverage, such as
TV Channel One's main news programme which repeatedly stressed his
ethnicity and said he "mumbled" during his court appearance.
Hovik Abrahamyan, speaker of the Armenian parliament, sent a letter
expressing sympathy with the crash victims and their relatives,
but underlining that the way the truck driver had been treated was
unacceptable. He said he hoped the police would investigate both the
causes of the collision and the actions of those who had humiliated
Harutyunyan.
In Armenia, many saw the incident as a reflection of racist attitudes
in Russia.
For two days in a row, more than 100 people gathered outside the
Russian embassy in Yerevan, holding up women's housecoats and signs
saying, "We demand humane treatment for Armenian citizens," "Housecoat
justice in Russia, stop your chauvinism" and "Here's a housecoat,
wear it yourself".
More than a dozen Facebook groups have been set up in support of
Harutyunyan. The most popular, intended to collect money for him,
gained almost 20,000 "likes".
Avetik Ishkhanyan, head of the Armenian Helsinki Committee, accused
Russian officials of deliberately exploiting the tragedy.
"This is clearly a political decision, and I don't think the law
enforcement agencies would have made this decision on their own. This
man was deliberately humiliated," he said. "It isn't just a slight to
our national pride, it shows Russia's disdain for the Armenian state."
Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Yerevan -based Analytical Centre
for Globalisation and Regional Cooperation, said the strength of
anti-immigrant feeling in Russia meant it was doubtful the suspect
would get a fair trial.
"Russia has a problem with immigrants," he said. "There are thousands
of immigrants from various countries, and Russia is just tired of it.
This case has raised a big fuss, and the Russians are trying to use
it to provoke a wave of indignation against immigrants."
Russian nationalism has grown under President Vladimir Putin,
often accompanied by animosity towards people from the Caucasus
and Central Asia, especially. In its ugliest form, it has generated
racist violence.
At the same time, Armenia is a long-standing ally that Moscow would
not wish to lose, given their enduring economic and security ties.
In response to the protest, the Russian embassy in Yerevan issued a
statement on July 17 expressing regret at what it said was the misuse
of a sad event to whip up anti-Russian sentiment.
"We consider it completely unacceptable to use a great human tragedy
for political ends and to undermine Russian-Armenian relations," the
statement said. "Mercenary, politicised comments are unacceptable. The
tragedy near Podolsk has no ethnic dimension, and it will be
investigated thoroughly, impartially, carefully and impassively."
Harutyunyan's daughter Lilit told journalists that she was grieving
for everyone killed in the accident.
She expressed hope that if her father was convicted, he would be
allowed to serve his sentence in Armenia. Aram Vardevanyan, head of
the legal department at the office of Armenia's ombudsman, said it
should be a straightforward matter to secure such an arrangement under
the Minsk Convention, a justice agreement involving Soviet states.
Gohar Abrahamyan is a reporter with the ArmeniaNow.com website.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenians-say-compatriates-mistreatment-reveals-russian-prejudice
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #695
July 24 2013
Fears that discriminatory attitudes in Russia will deny compatriot of
fair trial in fatal crash case.
By Gohar Abrahamyan - Caucasus
Angry protests have been held outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan
over the public humiliation of an Armenian man arrested after his
truck was involved in a fatal accident near Moscow.
Eighteen people died when Hrachya Harutyunyan's truck collided with
a bus on July 13 near the town of Podolsk, just outside the Russian
capital.
Harutyunyan was one of dozens of survivors taken to hospital. Police
then took him from the hospital to court, where Russian television
showed him unshaven and wearing a woman's housecoat as charges of
causing death by dangerous driving were read out.
About 20 Armenian journalists wrote to their colleagues in the Russian
Union of Journalists to complain of prejudicial coverage, such as
TV Channel One's main news programme which repeatedly stressed his
ethnicity and said he "mumbled" during his court appearance.
Hovik Abrahamyan, speaker of the Armenian parliament, sent a letter
expressing sympathy with the crash victims and their relatives,
but underlining that the way the truck driver had been treated was
unacceptable. He said he hoped the police would investigate both the
causes of the collision and the actions of those who had humiliated
Harutyunyan.
In Armenia, many saw the incident as a reflection of racist attitudes
in Russia.
For two days in a row, more than 100 people gathered outside the
Russian embassy in Yerevan, holding up women's housecoats and signs
saying, "We demand humane treatment for Armenian citizens," "Housecoat
justice in Russia, stop your chauvinism" and "Here's a housecoat,
wear it yourself".
More than a dozen Facebook groups have been set up in support of
Harutyunyan. The most popular, intended to collect money for him,
gained almost 20,000 "likes".
Avetik Ishkhanyan, head of the Armenian Helsinki Committee, accused
Russian officials of deliberately exploiting the tragedy.
"This is clearly a political decision, and I don't think the law
enforcement agencies would have made this decision on their own. This
man was deliberately humiliated," he said. "It isn't just a slight to
our national pride, it shows Russia's disdain for the Armenian state."
Stepan Grigoryan, head of the Yerevan -based Analytical Centre
for Globalisation and Regional Cooperation, said the strength of
anti-immigrant feeling in Russia meant it was doubtful the suspect
would get a fair trial.
"Russia has a problem with immigrants," he said. "There are thousands
of immigrants from various countries, and Russia is just tired of it.
This case has raised a big fuss, and the Russians are trying to use
it to provoke a wave of indignation against immigrants."
Russian nationalism has grown under President Vladimir Putin,
often accompanied by animosity towards people from the Caucasus
and Central Asia, especially. In its ugliest form, it has generated
racist violence.
At the same time, Armenia is a long-standing ally that Moscow would
not wish to lose, given their enduring economic and security ties.
In response to the protest, the Russian embassy in Yerevan issued a
statement on July 17 expressing regret at what it said was the misuse
of a sad event to whip up anti-Russian sentiment.
"We consider it completely unacceptable to use a great human tragedy
for political ends and to undermine Russian-Armenian relations," the
statement said. "Mercenary, politicised comments are unacceptable. The
tragedy near Podolsk has no ethnic dimension, and it will be
investigated thoroughly, impartially, carefully and impassively."
Harutyunyan's daughter Lilit told journalists that she was grieving
for everyone killed in the accident.
She expressed hope that if her father was convicted, he would be
allowed to serve his sentence in Armenia. Aram Vardevanyan, head of
the legal department at the office of Armenia's ombudsman, said it
should be a straightforward matter to secure such an arrangement under
the Minsk Convention, a justice agreement involving Soviet states.
Gohar Abrahamyan is a reporter with the ArmeniaNow.com website.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenians-say-compatriates-mistreatment-reveals-russian-prejudice