Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office human rights organization appeals the decision of Narek Osyan, a chief investigator of cases of particular importance at the Investigation Department of Lori region, to refuse opening a case in regard to the attack on the organization by residents of Vanadzor on April 16 in the law court of Lori region.
On April 16, residents of Vanadzor attacked Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office in protest against showing Azerbaijani movies. As a result, the property of the office was damaged, one of the workers was injured.
In regard to the above-mentioned facts, materials were collected at the Investigation Department of Lori region in order to check whether there were enough grounds to open a case and whether the cause was just.
Read also
According to the prepared materials, no corpus delicti was found in the deeds of any participants in the march and on the basis of its absence, as well as taking into account that the participants in the march didn’t intend to disturb the public order, no particularly disrespectful attitude was shown toward citizens, the
actions of organizers and participants were caused by the motive of defending their national dignity, and it is the very reason why a peaceful march was organized, the preliminary investigation body refused to open a case.
As opposed to this, counselor Karen Tumanyan, the representative of the human rights organization, claimed in the court that there were both the grounds and the just cause.
He claims that the report on the examination of the accident scene was drawn up in violation of the law without maintaining the rules, as a result of which the supposed offenders have fouled the trail through easy access.
“The trail, on which the police officers could get, has disappeared,” says he.
Opposing investigator Osyan’s arguments of the absence of corpus delicti, Karen Tumanyan explains that the investigator should have opened a case, put forward proofs permissible and appropriate according to the law, examined all circumstances, one-by-one, then he should have made a legal assessment of all that. “The investigator stated that the windows had been broken by Margarita Khachatryan, the given fact doesn’t correspond to the reality, since the video and audio recordings provided by the police show that the stone is thrown at the right window of the organization’s office by a young man dressed in white who, according to the materials, hasn’t given an explanation either.”
“The preliminary investigation body considered the fact that the person not identified by the materials had damaged the remote control of the organization that cost 17 000 AMD and the poster, however, since the overall value of the property of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office destroyed and damaged didn’t exceed the considerable scale – 30 times the minimum wage – provided for by the law, the preliminary investigation body found that there was no corpus delicti in this case either.”
“Without revealing the other person who damaged the property belonging to the organization, without identifying that person, without clarifying his intention, the preliminary investigation body found that there was no corpus delicti in his deed” states the counselor, explaining that it is a violation of the law.
According to him, a set of circumstances, which are necessary for investigating the case, were not examined through the prepared materials. “It is necessary to find out whether there was or wasn’t corpus delicti of hooliganism. In this case, the factor of hooliganism should have been clarified after and not before opening a case.”
Anush BULGHADARYAN
