According to my letter, a criminal case has been initiated at the Anti-Corruption Committee

Chairperson of the Permanent Commission on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National Assembly, member of the "Honorary Right" faction, Taguhi Tovmasyan, wrote on her Facebook page:

“On June 3, I appealed to the Prosecutor General regarding the use of special measures by the police officers of the Republic of Armenia. Based on my letter, a criminal case has been initiated at the Anti-Corruption Committee with prepared materials.

On June 3, special measures were applied by the police of the Republic of Armenia against citizens participating in a gathering in Yerevan, resulting in injuries to several citizens and police officers. Moreover, as I stated earlier, according to the testimonies of specialists and eyewitnesses, the severity of the fragmentary injuries sustained by citizens and police officers is due to the expiration of the ammunition, which is absolutely unacceptable.

In my letter to the Prosecutor General, I referred to the claims regarding the use of special measures by the police without prior warning and cited the requirements of Article 29 of the Law on Police of the Republic of Armenia, which stipulates that the police must warn citizens participating in the gathering about the application of special measures before their execution.

The execution of coercive powers by the police must be directed at pursuing the purposes set forth in the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Armenia, and the means to achieve these ends must be suitable, necessary, and proportionate.

I also presented to the Prosecutor General all concerns that the shelf life of the special measures applied in the police forces’ arsenal had expired, as no specific "Sviril" type sound and light shell has been purchased since 2017, and their shelf life is only 4 years.

The letter addressed to the Prosecutor General concerned the legality of the decision on the necessity of applying special measures by the police, issues regarding the validity and expiration of special measures applied, and the relevant procedures.

Indeed, the response letter from the Anti-Corruption Committee mentioned that my letter had been received regarding the fact that on June 3, 2022, police officers applied outdated special measures without warning, resulting in various citizens sustaining fragmentary injuries. Given that there are legal grounds for initiating a criminal case and features of the alleged crime, defined under the second part of Article 309 of the RA Criminal Code, of abuse of official power combined with violence, which has caused substantial damage to the rights and legal interests of individuals, it has been decided to initiate a criminal case on the alleged incident of abuse of official power combined with violence under the second part of Article 309 of the RA Criminal Code.

I will be following the progress of criminal cases and each case of continued violations of rights of RA citizens by the police.

P.S. The suspected or accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the manner prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia by a legally valid court verdict.”

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