There is a criminal case against Vardges Gaspari, an Armenian National Congress (ANC) activist and a former prisoner of conscience, the examination of which will continue in the trial court of the Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts presided by Judge Mkhitar Papoyan on August 21.
The administrative proceedings brought against Gaspari by the police, which was in the administrative court of the Republic of Armenia (Judge K. Baghdasaryan) were stopped on July 21, since the police had given up its lawsuit on July 13.
Let us remind that according to the police, last March 3, V. Gaspari being late to join the protest of booth owners in Freedom Square “disturbed the public order,” the traffic. The police demanded that Gaspari be held accountable administratively. The lawsuit was filed by Edgar Petrosyan, a representative of the Central Department of the Police of the Republic of Armenia. Last March 28, this petition was returned once, since the police didn’t think they should present the document confirming that Gaspari had received the lawsuit.
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Last November 14, the trial started. Vardges Gaspari informed www.aravot.am that counselor Mushegh Shushanyan, a member of the Bar Association of Armenia, had provided him with legal aid during that whole period and he had done it completely free.
“It turns out that during every rally, everyone should be with his lawyer, in order that he can get legal aid,” V. Gaspari says. By the way, the latter is happy, since, as he says, he has been freed of a-year-and-a-half-long red tape in courts and wasting time.
Gaspari is waiting for a response also to another report, which he has made to the Attorney General.
According to the report, on August 1, after the protest organized in front of Baghramyan 26, when he tried to cross the crossroads of Proshyan Street and Baghramyan Street at the green light, 1-2 dozens of police officers violated his right to freedom of movement for 45 minutes.
Applying to the attorney, Gaspari writes, “I demand not to employ the general definitions naturally characteristic of the criminals who are close to you and not to close the case with the definition ‘the police officers carried out their duty.’”
Gaspari demands to hold police officers accountable and from the attorney whether the words correspond to the reality or not.
Ruzan MINASYAN
P.S. By the way, let us also mention that the police have refused to open a case against Samvel Alexanyan who took away Vardges Gaspari’s banner and the bodyguard who knocked him to the ground during a protest against the National Assembly.
