Investigative Committee Decides Not to Initiate Criminal Case Against NSS Deputy Chief

On June 7, the deadline for preparing materials regarding the incident involving the NSS Deputy Chief Sargis Hovhannisyan at the Investigative Committee expired. Armlur.am applied to the Investigative Committee's press service to clarify whether a criminal case was initiated or not.

In connection with the applications addressed to the Prosecutor General of Armenia by the civic advisory organization "Informed Citizens' Union" regarding illegal actions performed by NSS Deputy Chief Sargis Hovhannisyan and his staff, the Investigative Committee's Yerevan Investigation Department for Serious Crimes found and substantiated that on May 2, 2022, near the intersection of Baghramyan Avenue and Proshyan Street in Yerevan, a confrontation started between journalist Nare Gevorgyan, operator Arman Gharajyan, and Sargis Hovhannisyan and Edgar Papinyan. The incident began when S. Hovhannisyan, during a mobile phone conversation, demanded to remove the microphone from him and not to film. However, Nare Gevorgyan did not respond to this request and continued filming and asking questions, after which Sargis Hovhannisyan pushed the microphone held by Nare Gevorgyan aside.

At the same time, it was established that Edgar Papinyan attempted to prevent operator Arman Gharajyan from approaching Sargis Hovhannisyan and filming him, aiming to exclude the publication of Hovhannisyan’s work-related conversation, meaning that their actions were aimed solely at ensuring the confidentiality of Hovhannisyan's telephone conversation protected by Armenian legislation.

According to Article 33 of the Armenian Constitution, "Everyone has the right to freedom and secrecy of correspondence, telephone conversations, and other communications." Article 34 states, "Everyone has the right to protection of personal data concerning him/her. The processing of personal data must be carried out in good faith, for purposes specified by law, with the consent of the person or, in cases provided by law, without such consent based on other legitimate grounds." In the context of the Constitution of Armenia, which has the highest legal power, and the law on "Protection of Personal Data," it is necessary to view the request of Sargis Hovhannisyan and others not to be filmed as absolutely lawful. It should be noted that after such a request, the journalist was obliged to cease his actions, especially considering that the initiative of the interview and filming was unilateral.

In such circumstances, the actions of journalist Nare Gevorgyan and operator Arman Gharajyan were deemed unlawful; therefore, the actions of Sargis Hovhannisyan and Edgar Papinyan lacked the characteristics of the offense prescribed in Article 164 of the Criminal Code of Armenia concerning obstruction of a journalist's lawful professional activities. Furthermore, during the preparation of materials, no factual data was obtained regarding S. Hovhannisyan's alleged physical assault on A. Gharajyan, who refused to undergo a forensic examination, claiming that he did not sustain bodily injury from the blow. According to the findings of the forensic and forensic-expert examinations, no traces or damages were discovered on the external surfaces of the equipment examined. Based on the prepared materials, a decision was made to reject the initiation of a criminal case due to the absence of criminal composition,” the Investigative Committee reported.

According to information from the newspaper "Zhoghovurd," the Investigative Committee of Armenia intends to send a notification to NSS Deputy Chief Sargis Hovhannisyan to present himself to the investigative body and provide an explanation regarding the incident. The case involving the incident with Sargis Hovhannisyan, Head of the Security Service of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, is under investigation by the Investigative Committee's Serious Crimes Investigation Department. After hearing the explanations and reviewing the evidence and grounds, the investigative body will decide whether to initiate a criminal case concerning the incident.

Sargis Hovhannisyan allegedly used violence against journalist Nare Gevorgyan and operator Arman Gharajyan at the intersection of Baghramyan-Proshyan streets on May 2, while threatening one of the participants of the protest. All facts related to the incident are with the Investigative Committee, and it is hard to imagine on what grounds the initiation of a criminal case will be rejected by the investigative body, as the elements of the crime are obvious. In fact, a report regarding the initiation of a criminal case against Sargis Hovhannisyan was also submitted to the Prosecutor General by the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia, Takhuhy Tovmasyan.