Charges Filed Against 20 Individuals for Violence Against Police During Protest in Ijevan

As a result of extensive investigative and procedural actions carried out by the Special Investigative Committee of Armenia, the circumstances surrounding the acts of violence against police officers during a protest in the city of Ijevan have been established.

According to the data obtained during the investigation, on July 17, 2019, starting at around 18:00, a group of individuals blocked the intersection of the interstate road between Armenia and Georgia, at the junction of Yerevanyan and Ijevanian streets, expressing their dissatisfaction regarding the tightening of measures against illegal logging, thus obstructing the normal flow of road traffic.

Ignoring the legal demands of Armenian police officers to clear the roadway and stop actions that obstructed traffic and violated public order, some participants of the gathering damaged the tin roof of the public transport stop located at the intersection, broke the windows of the PAZ-32054 vehicle registered under the Armenian police department by throwing stones, and dealt blows with their hands, feet, stones, and pieces of wood torn from trees to the police officers, subjecting them to violence that posed no danger to life or health. As a consequence, the officers sustained varying degrees of bodily injuries.

Based on a sufficient combination of evidence, 20 individuals have been charged under Article 316, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (violence against a representative of authority). Pre-trial detention has been applied as a precautionary measure for 12 of them, which was later replaced by bail, while a signature not to leave has been selected for 8 others.

The investigation concerning the 20 defendants has been completed, and the criminal case has been sent to the prosecutor with a prosecutorial conclusion.