The European Court of Human Rights has accepted the case Journalists’ Club Asparez Chairman Levon Barseghyan vs. the Republic of Armenia. Levon Barseghyan wrote about that in a Facebook status, “We have managed to be a petitioner against the Republic of Armenia in this life. On March 2, 2008, cops took me from Theater Square in Gyumri to the cop shop explaining that I haven’t carried out the legitimate order of a cop, I wasn’t allowed to enter Theater Square and I had tried to enter once, that was it, then cops kept me for 6 hours, thugs from the prosecutor’s office stayed in the cop shop for 6 hours, there was no cop who would report on me that I had beaten or pushed him, they realized that they couldn’t cook up a criminal case or they were told from Yerevan that the plan was fulfilled, they saw that citizens were gathering… then Seyran Martirosyan, Karen Tumanyan, Artur Sakunts, Zaruhi Postanjyan and company, a few ambassadors called etc., they were going too far and decided to let me go.” The administrative court decided that Levon Barseghyan had to pay 50-thousand-AMD fine for not complying with the legitimate demand of a police officer, but he hasn’t paid that fine so far and is not going to pay it, “I will not pay that 50 000 for the world, if they want it, let them come for it.”
Since the Supreme Court, in Levon Barseghyan’s words, “didn’t give a damn” for their appeal, the case has been sent to the European Court through the mediation of Karen Tumanyan, currently a candidate for the mayor of Vanadzor, and non-partisan MP Edmon Marukyan. It was written on the website of the European Court the other day that the case was under consideration. During a conversation with www.aravot.am, Levon Barseghyan stated that the right to freedom of assembly had been violated and “these people decided not to allow a person to freely enter Theater Square of the town. They said that a state of emergency had been declared – we had explained thousands of times that it was declared only in Yerevan.
According to his prediction, the European Court will probably demand compensation for moral damage, “But I don’t think that they will punish anyone, any cop.”
A similar case is under consideration in the Yerevan administrative court; there has been a preliminary session. Levon Barseghyan’s lawsuit is against the police, in order to find their actions illegal. Levon Barseghyan who participated in a parade on Independence Day, last September 21, was arrested for shouting “Free, independent Armenia,” while holding the tricolor near Saryan Statue, they dragged him by his hands, put him into a car and took him to the police. According to Levon Barseghyan, “It was the Armenian independence parade against foreign flags. The deputy head of the Kentron police department came, along with 40 police officers, firstly they took away the posters – it was written ‘Independent Armenia,’ ‘Armenia is not a part of Russia’ on them. Then, when we raised the flag and moved, they brought me in, kept me for 3 hours, the parade ended, they released me not drawing up a report on the arrest. At the preliminary session, a police representative said ‘we didn’t bring in anyone, they came of their own free will, therefore, we didn’t draw up a report on the arrest.’ So I came from Gyumri to go and have a talk with police officers, is that it?”
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If the court doesn’t make a legitimate decision on this case either and doesn’t punish the guilty, Levon Barseghyan will file a petition in the European Court regarding this case too.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
