Police Used Brutal Force, Beat Supporters of the 'Hayastan' Alliance: Ombudsman Report

The details of the emergency line report about the violence against supporters of the 'Hayastan' alliance by the police have been revealed, with letters sent to the Prosecutor's Office and the Police.

On June 16, 2021, Haikaz Harutyunyan, a candidate included in the electoral list of the 'Hayastan' alliance, called the hotline of the Human Rights Defender and reported that during the campaign of the Acting Prime Minister in front of the 'Hayastan' alliance’s headquarters in the city of Yeghegnadzor, the police special unit's 'red berets' detained Tigran Khudoyan, Hayk Muradyan, and Shahen Vardanyan.

Harutyunyan insisted that when he reported to the Ombudsman’s office, he had no information about their whereabouts.

In connection with the report, the Human Rights Defender's office received clarifications from the Police stating that the mentioned individuals had been detained on suspicion of committing an act specified in Article 149.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (obstructing gatherings), and two of them were transferred to the investigating authority. This information was later communicated to the individual who called the Ombudsman’s hotline.

Subsequently, Harutyunyan contacted again and informed that Tigran Khudoyan had exited the administrative building of the investigative authority with his hand bandaged, suffering from a joint dislocation (according to the individual, his hand had been 'dislocated').

Khudoyan reported that he sustained the bodily injury as a result of the police applying handcuffs during his detention. He also noted that his fingers were amputated, and he had previously requested the police officers not to apply handcuffs; nevertheless, they were executed.

According to the report, during the detention as well as while being held at the police station, police officers used brutal force against Khudoyan, and the other person deprived of liberty at that time, Shahen Vardanyan, was also beaten, requiring a visit from an ambulance crew.

Shortly after, the media published information regarding the use of disproportionate physical force against the individuals detained at the police station, along with a photograph being released.

Considering the circumstances of the report and the specified information about the violence against the deprived of liberty, letters were sent from the Human Rights Defender's office to the Prosecutor's Office and the Police to verify the reports of violence against citizens held in the police station under the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.