Video: 12 Police Officers Brutally Beat Driver for Half an Hour, Police Remain Silent

On August 22, 2020, Yerevan.Today published footage revealing a concealed incident in which a citizen was brutally beaten by 12 police officers inside the Gayi police department building.

This pertains to a scandalous case of violence in the well-known building on Gayi Street in the city of Posi, which was carefully covered up by police chief Vahe Ghazaryan. Furthermore, it seems there was an initial attempt to even conceal it from the investigation; special measures were taken to that end, as indicated by the victim in the video.

However, at some point, the severe injuries inflicted on the citizen prompted the brutal officers to take action. The victim was brought out of the Gayi building around 23:30, not in an ambulance, but in a police vehicle after being apprehended at approximately 22:20. Our gathered information shows that no ambulance was called, as the goal was to cover up the incident.

With his weakened body barely fitting into the vehicle, he was first taken to the Erebuni police station and, upon seeing the bloodied, torn clothes and handcuffed but unconscious man, the shift police officers realized the seriousness of the situation and ordered him to be taken to a hospital.

Remarkably, instead of transferring him to the nearest hospital, the brutal officers chose to take him to the farthest state hospital, St. Grigor Lusavorich (Masiv), which, notably, has been headed by Arman Hovakimyan, a friend of former Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan since the revolution.

Another noteworthy moment: the patient was registered here on the first floor of St. Grigor Lusavorich hospital, documented in the security footage that was seized. In addition to revealing interesting conversations taking place between the brutal officers and on-duty doctors while smoking in the hospital area, the victim, whose badly beaten body was kept in the room for 15 minutes, received no primary medical assistance whatsoever. Moreover, although they saw that he was not conscious and had collapsed on a wheelchair, they did not deem it necessary to revive him.

This indicates that these individuals found it fully convenient for the citizen to remain in an unconscious state—why? Attention: The fact that the brutal police team made the decision under orders to take the heavily injured man, who had endured 30 minutes of continuous blows to the abdomen and head, to a hospital that had specifically been given a status for handling only COVID-19 patients since April 2020 by Minister Arsen Torosyan should be particularly scrutinized.

This fact inherently contains significant corruption risks and violations of office; this particular incident at least hints at possible collusions between the then-responsible health minister Arsen Torosyan and police chief Vahe Ghazaryan.

In the footage obtained by Yerevan.Today, the beginning of the incident is shown, along with scenes of the beating lasting 30-35 minutes within the police building and its surroundings, and all developments following the incident up until the moment when the indifferent doctors of St. Grigor Lusavorich hospital, after about 15 minutes of discussions, were forced to call an ambulance to transfer the man to Hospital No. 1 named after Heratsi.

It is worth noting that despite all efforts to cover up the incident, the Special Investigative Service has nevertheless initiated an investigation, with the only hindrance being an alert from Hospital No. 1. The SIS has completed the preliminary investigation and recently sent the case to court; it is notable that at least 12 traffic police officers and two citizens were directly involved in the incident—citizen Arthur Mesropyan and his brother, who followed their vehicle to a fine collection site—but shockingly, the two civilians have been recognized as victims in the case, while only two of the 12 brutal officers have had disciplinary proceedings initiated against them and were suspended from duty. Only three officers have been charged under Article 392, part two of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.

In other words, only three police officers face charges.

Witness the curious developments of the investigation in the video provided below.