‘I see a trend that it could be turned around and citizens could be blamed’ says MP about citizens beaten by police officers

Member of the National Assembly from the ‘Armenia’ faction Kristine Vardanyan addressed the brutal beating of several citizens by employees of the Patrol Service in Lori region during a press conference on November 26.

“The incident has two sides—on one side are the employees of the Patrol Service, which has not been denied, and on the other side are the citizens who ended up in the hospital. As a result of the incident, only the citizens sustained injuries, including a minor. I now see a trend and feel threatened that there may be an attempt to turn it around and portray the citizens as the guilty party,” she stated.

It is noteworthy that, according to information provided by the same MP, the incident occurred when the Patrol Service attempted to clear the road for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's motorcade. She specifically mentioned: “I received an alert from residents of Lori region that several citizens were brutally beaten by officers of the Patrol Service yesterday. According to a citizen I spoke to shortly ago, the incident occurred after the Patrol Service attempted to clear the road for Nikol Pashinyan's motorcade and during that time, a dispute arose with an elderly citizen who simply requested to be spoken to with respect. The son of the elderly citizen intervened in the conversation, after which a larger number of Patrol Service officers (more than ten) intervened, who, according to the citizen, used brutal violence against the civilians, also using tear gas.”

“As a result of the violence, two citizens, including the minor grandson of the elderly citizen, ended up in the hospital with multiple injuries, including fractures. According to the citizen, the materials from the cameras that recorded the incident were also destroyed today, and they were urged not to speak publicly about the case. The citizen asked for as much public attention as possible to be drawn to this incident. I call on the RA Police to take immediate action to clarify the circumstances of the incident, to initiate an internal investigation, and to prevent individuals involved in the incident from continuing to perform their official duties until the investigation is complete. I also urge human rights defenders to ensure that no pressure is exerted on the victims of the incident and to assist them in protecting their violated rights,” she added.