Vehicles Taken to Special Protected Areas Not Returned in Due Time: Tovmasyan

Starting from May 16, I have been receiving regular reports from citizens conducting an awareness auto parade, who claim that their vehicles have been taken to special protected areas by police officers without justification and have not been returned to the owners within the time limits set by the laws of the Republic of Armenia. This was reported by Taguhi Tovmasyan, a deputy from the ‘I Have Honor’ faction of the National Assembly, on her Facebook page.

She specifically noted:
“Moreover, no report was prepared by the police employees, or if one was made, the drivers were not provided with a copy of that report, whereas it is stipulated by law that the competent official must prepare a report and provide copies both to the driver and to the persons responsible for maintaining security in the special protected area before taking custody of it.

I have appealed to the Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia regarding the resolution of the aforementioned issues, demanding clarification and the immediate return of the citizens’ vehicles. I have received a response stating that during the period from May 16 to May 24, 53 vehicles of citizens conducting the auto parade were moved to a special area, with reasons for their removal including creating obstacles for traffic participants or parking in prohibited places. Out of these, 50 have been removed from the impound and returned to the drivers (owners), 2 are still under impound due to being subject to search by the Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, and one driver refused to remove the vehicle from the special area, as he disagrees that an administrative violation report should be drawn up against him.

The primary goal of the police should be to protect the rights of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, not to punish them while disregarding the laws of the Republic of Armenia and their rights, in this case, the right to property protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.