Two Hours After the Incident, Eight Cars Arrived: Eyewitness on the Scandal Involving Police Officers

On November 25 in Vanadzor, three citizens were assaulted by officers of the Patrol Service. Two of the injured have been hospitalized and are receiving treatment at the Vanadzor Medical Center.

Aren Jeroyan, a relative of the victims and an eyewitness to the incident, recounted that the altercation occurred after the Patrol Service officers attempted to clear the road for an official's convoy, leading to a dispute with his sister's husband’s father, Rafik Avetisyan, who simply asked them to speak with him respectfully.

“Rafa is a taxi driver. I don’t know which official was passing through Vanadzor with his convoy, but the patrol officers told him to move to the right and to wait. One officer yelled, ‘Where are you going? Catch this one,’ and when Rafa got out of the car, he said, ‘It’s shameful; I’m much older than you. Why are you speaking to me like that? Your colleague told me to move to the right and stop, and I did just that.’ This led to a minor conflict, and Rafa’s son also intervened before they left. The patrol officers went away while the others went to a repair shop for their break.

About two hours after that incident, my sister’s son came from school to the shop, and I went to help the child. We were there for about three minutes when around eight cars arrived. They pulled my brother-in-law, and when the child approached, I yelled not to touch him as he was sick and a minor. But it was too late; they started beating my brother-in-law. The child ran away, and they used tear gas; none of us could see anything. They beat us all and destroyed the workshop,” said the eyewitness.

Jeroyan mentioned that a 17-year-old minor fell into a coma and later emerged, suffering from fractures, while his brother-in-law, Radik, has broken ribs. “They managed to get the boy out of the coma, but he has fractures. Radik's ribs are completely broken and his lungs are filled with fluid.”

Aren Jeroyan also stated that they used tear gas against him. “I also have an allergy; because of the tear gas, I’m still having difficulty seeing. I just managed to take a shower today.”

The Investigative Committee has addressed the incident today, stating that several criminal proceedings have been initiated. However, the investigation presented a different narrative, claiming that the driver of an Opel vehicle did not comply with a police officer's instructions, creating an emergency situation. After that, a police officer approached the driver to record the administrative violation; a nearby citizen interfered with the officer’s legal actions. Other citizens approached as well, and one struck and insulted one of the arriving police officers. According to the statement, other police officers also arrived at the scene, leading to more citizens confronting them, during which one citizen attacked a police officer with a metal rod, prevented by other citizens, while one citizen sprayed liquid on the police officers.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 297, Part 2, Clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of individuals) and Part 1 of Article 452 (interference with the lawful professional or political activities of a public servant). It is noteworthy that this incident was reported by MP Kristine Vardanyan from the ‘Armenia’ faction. She stated that the convoy belonged to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to the MP, the footage capturing the incident has been destroyed, and participants of the incident were encouraged not to speak out about it.