Levon Barseghyan, President of “Asbarez” Journalists Union, detained by the Police on December 2, 2013 from the protest on “We are against the Customs Union”, has not yet received the decision on administrative responsibility, although at the police station he was notified about bringing charges in compliance with the Code of Administrative Offences, prim Article 180/80. “They might have changed their mind,” opines Mr. Barseghyan. In the conversation with us, he said that in the nearest future he is planning to sue the police for illegal restriction of his right on December 2. “I have not done any delinquency. The police officers once again misbehaved, they exceeded their duties and took the peaceful demonstrators to the Police Station, with no legal basis. I will definitely sue them, and I will make them recognize to violate my rights; apparent blatant violation of constitutional rights to conduct peaceful rallies and freedom of expression happened on December 2, as it happened three years ago on September. Fighting for a year and a half, we won the case against the police. The Administrative Court recognized that I was forcedly taken to the police station just for raising the tricolor flag and shouting “free and independent Armenia”. We achieved the verdict we wanted through the court. Now, the same thing will happen.” To our question whether our precedential victory against the police had stopped the police from the decision of an administrative penalty, Mr. Barseghyan said, “Eminent Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan has to decide on whether they want to fight with me in court, or not. I will still file a court case, and it will be evident at the court what these people were dreaming about when a child, I am going to make them suffer by going back and forth for a year and a half, I will drive them to the dogs.”
Arpine Simonyan
