Photo-reporter of armtimes.com, Tigran Mazmanyan, has already consulted a lawyer and is going to apply to the court. “My right to free movement was violated, in addition, I have shown my badge that I’m a journalist and I was doing my job at that time, I was going to cover en event, but the police officers hampered my job as a journalist,” – said Tigran Mazmanyan to Aravot.am. On Saturday, June 25, people dressed in civilian detained him to the police department.
According to the photo-reporter, “It was not a detention but more like kidnapping because, during the detention, they need to have facts or some reasons but I was not presented any reason. I was apprehended by people dressed in civilian clothes who have not introduced themselves and took me to the police department of Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district, and a report was filed on the suspicion of Article 327 of the Criminal Code. I asked what Article it is, they said that it is about avoiding military service. But I have served in the army, and after the completion of my service, I was a contract soldier for a few months. In addition, a search is declared when someone avoids serving in the army, and when apprehended, he is taken not to the police station but the military police. I was apprehended from Sayat-Nova and Khanjyan streets crossroad, right in front of the military police building, but as I said I was taken to the police department.” Tigran Mazmanyan told that he was taken to the police department at the moment of implementing his job, he was gone to cover the cases of detention of the activists of the “Founding Parliament”, “I was called and told that the activists are detained and I was going to cover it. I was walking and before one crossroad down, before getting to the scene, I was apprehended. It seems to me that my detaining me, they were trying to prevent the coverage of the detention of the activists because the detention of the activists was completely illegal, people dressed in civilian clothes are approaching and without introducing themselves they are apprehending.”
To the question of Aravot.am about the people dressed in civilian clothes, the Police Public Relations and Information Department did not respond and did not specify whether the police officers were dressed in the uniform or like civilians, “During the service, people have detained him to check on … I’ve already said it.” The police denied that the detainers have not introduced themselves, “They have introduced themselves that they are police officers.” Pertaining to Tigran Mazmanyan’s words that a report was filed at the police department on suspicion of Article 327 of the Criminal Code (avoiding military service), it turned out that the police had no information on it, “Either he has said something wrong, or you have not understood correctly. He was taken to the police department to check on and after passing the checking he was released.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
