“What remains for the citizens is to use adequate force to protect themselves because we have a disproportionate situation where the one who possesses state resources, on the one hand, exerts a force, on the other hand, does not give a legal assessment to the use of illegal force and considers it normal”- such an opinion was expressed by human rights activist Artur Sakunts, being informed of the decision of the Special Investigation Service regarding the dismissal of the case of the police violence under the investigating happened on the night of the New Year “on the grounds of absence of evidence”. The investigator has not seen footages in the video showing that the police beat up the opposition member, moreover, that their actions are not legitimate.
Recall that the former human rights defender Karen Andreasyan in his letter to the police chief has literally stressed that the law enforcement hit the citizens with hands and feet. “Legally, we have appeared in a very difficult situation because a very bad practice is formed when the SIS dismisses the cases of violence against the citizens on obvious ground of facts with the substantiation of the absence of crime, which obviously does not correspond to the facts. Giving a great role and a preference to the testimony given by police officers than to the testimony of citizens continues. Incidentally, this was addressed by PACE in its resolutions regarding the March 1 events, saying that all the accusations of the criminal case against the citizens where only the police officers act as a witness should be considered suspicious,” said Artur Sakunts. According to him, the SIS is violating the assignment by the PACE resolution formulated still in 2008 on Armenia, “The continuation of such practices, on the one hand, can lead to expansion of illegalities by the police in case of impunity because hoping that the police may refrain from illegal actions based on urgings and decency is at least groundless. On the other hand, SIS continues sponsoring the police violence because until now, even the proceeding of the criminal case against the police illegal actions during the Electric Yerevan is still unknown.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
