Police Officer Who Assaulted Fallen Soldier's Father Awarded

The newspaper "Hraparak" reports: "During the movement of Resistance, police officers renowned for their brutal and unfriendly treatment of protesters are being awarded one after another by the authorities. We have already written about the promotions of some of them. It turns out that even the police officer who assaulted the father of Haykaz Mkrtchyan, who was killed in the 44-day war, has been awarded, and moreover, by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

This refers to the deputy commander of the special unit of the RA police forces' 1032 battalion (Davtashen), Serob Margaryan, who received a medal and a certificate on June 24 while participating in the event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the RA police forces.

On June 3, during a well-known incident at the Demirchyan-Proshyan intersection in front of the Government's guesthouses, special measures and brute force were applied against peaceful protesters. A group of men in black from the special unit of the 1032 battalion arrested the father of the fallen soldier using obvious brute force. Some of them were hitting the hero's father with their feet and fists on his head and various parts of his body.

Even the commander of the 1032 battalion, Hovhannes Zakaryan, was present during the beating of the hero's father, while Zakaryan's deputy, Serob Margaryan, actively participated in the beating, as can be seen in the video where he can be seen pressing a baton to the fallen soldier's father's head. In fact, one of the main actors of the barbarity that occurred in front of the public eye is being publicly awarded by Pashinyan, who should have been subjected to an internal investigation. This demonstrates that all those who protect his persona are under his high patronage. Incidentally, our sources in the police state that both the chief and the deputy are known loyalists of Nikol, and they are referred to as 'zombies' in the system.

The father of the fallen soldier, Zaven Mkrtchyan, recounted the violence he experienced at a rally held on June 4 at France Square: “When I fell into that mob, they instantly tore my shirt, which had my son's picture on it. I felt like I was receiving 10 hits to the head at once. They pushed my head down, and I felt how many punches I was getting from different directions, on various parts of my body. The particularly cruel nature of those blows I felt on my head. I said, ‘I am the father of a hero, what are you doing?’, and they replied, ‘That's exactly why we are beating you...’ I said, ‘What have I done to you that you would treat me this way?’, to which they responded, ‘Shut up, or we’ll break your arms...’

Details in today's issue of the newspaper.