Chairman of the Board of “Asparez” club Levon Barseghyan believes that besides the 21-year-old resident of Sarnaghbyur Mnatsakan Aleksanyan, several other people were arrested. “I think that the police along with the prosecutor, in this case more the Prosecutor’s Office, is looking for a scapegoat, it wants to attribute the blame to somebody. In line with this, of course, they will not be against the public intimidation. Perhaps, they are concerned that the complaints are continued, especially if the Russian side rejects the extradition and the Armenian side does not display consistency to ensure the case and the detained to Armenia. Perhaps, they are doing prophylactic things. I would not mind, apparently, holding 2-3 people as hostage. I believe that the regime has taken a hostage, but there is an important fact that the journalists need to deliver to the public. The most important thing is the following that the police has provoked the clashes in the evening of April 15 with its untalented actions, or criminals, yet unknown people, who were dressed in police uniforms, they were in outfit and conducted obvious, illegal and violent actions against peaceful demonstrators. The particularly blocked Nzhdeh Street, where there were several important institutions – hospitals and lifeline facilities.
The protesters marched in there and did not seek to hit a police officer, or else they would have done it in front of the prosecutor’s office, why they should go there to beat the police. And the police have begun to terrorize the peaceful protesters, or people dressed in police uniforms have not made any warning, did not introduce themselves that they are policemen. They have started to hit their shields with truncheons, started to throw light and noise grenades and driving off the people. People are afraid and started to curse, to defend themselves and the police attack turned into clashes. And now, the police are trying to find the guilty. If you wanted to protect the consulate building, let you go and protect the building rather than block the street,” says Levon Barseghyan.
Yesterday, Chairman of the Board of “Asparez” Club, on hearing the news about the arrest of Sarnaghbyur resident, has hurried to the prosecution’s office and then was witnessed what illegal attitude is demonstrated against the young man in the Akhuryan police detention facility. For a long time, he was not allowed to have a lawyer. “To be honest, I was not a witness of the whole event, but after his father’s alarm, I went to prosecutor’s office. They also were at the prosecutor’s office, later on, we confirmed by some phone calls that Mnatsakan Aleksanyan is in the Akhuryan police detention facility, the father made arrangement with the lawyer, he is a lawyer in Gyumri. In short, we went to the police, it was 10:15, the lawyer presented the documents and said that he wants to see the client.
We learned that he is in a status of a suspect and was arrested by order of the Deputy Prosecutor of Shirak region, and began to delay, make noise, and disallow the attorney to talk to the client for 15 minutes, half an hour, 40 minutes… The police on duty were saying that the investigator is inside and does not come out. During that time, we all started making alarm calls where we could make: to the MPs, the “Observer” social group of the police, human rights defender, hot line of the police, the internal security department, hot lines that were posted on the window glass at the Akhuryan police patrol division, but no answer… Finally, as we understood, the alarm calls were answered and the head of the department was in his office, George Tadevosyan came down and entered the room, he explained something. Ultimately, they prepared the papers and close to 23:56, they allowed the lawyer to enter. He came out at night, close to 1:30. The young man had refused to write something, which he has the full right, and had said that the police had not bothered him.”
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According to Levon Barseghyan, two days after the clashes with police, early in the morning of April 17, the guy was taken to the police and was not told where they were taking him. The family members – father and the relatives, were looking for him all day long and inquired at the police, and late in the evening, someone from the police department had accidentally told where he was. “They interrogated the young man for 13 hours, had taken the passport from him and only then, they had left him out. The passport was returned on Saturday, April 29, and the young man had not gone anywhere, he was quietly busy with his work,” told Levon Barseghyan.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
