Video: Police Acted Lawfully in Detaining 'Bottle Melo's' Brother, Says Police

On August 4, media reported on a statement made by the lawyer of a 54-year-old resident of Abovyan, who was arrested on August 3. According to the lawyer, 'the brother of former MP Robert Manukyan was arrested and subjected to beatings at the Kotayk Regional Police Department under suspicion of committing an act provided for in Articles 38-332 of the Criminal Code.' Photographs of the detainee's body surfaced online, showing reddish marks on various parts of his body.

It should be noted that on August 2, a criminal case was initiated in the Kotayk Regional Investigative Department on the grounds of obstructing justice and using violence against a representative of the authorities. As part of this case, on August 3, police officers from the Kotayk division visited the residence of a 54-year-old man living in Abovyan to detain him as a suspect in the aforementioned criminal case.

The man displayed unlawful behavior and did not comply with the legal demands of the police officers. Therefore, the police were forced to use physical force to detain him. It is important to remind the lawyer of Article 30 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Police, which pertains to the use of physical force. In cases where an individual does not comply with the legal demands of a police officer or resists, the police officer is entitled to use physical force, including martial arts techniques.

Consequently, the police acted lawfully and applied proportional force to the actions of the detainee. Moreover, physical force was only used when assisting him to get into the vehicle and when entering the Kotayk police division with him. The video clearly shows that without the use of force, the police officers could not fulfill their legally assigned duties.

Due to the reddish marks on the detainee's body, a forensic examination has been ordered, and only the conclusion of the examination will clarify the reasons for their appearance. Therefore, making unfounded statements prematurely is, to say the least, inappropriate, especially when the video of the detention contradicts such claims.