Yesterday police quashed the criminal case against Armenian National Congress activist Tigran Arakelyan "on the grounds of insufficiency of evidence". Criminal cases against Sahak Muradyan and Herbert Gevorgyan were quashed as well.

Lawyer Varduhy Elbakyan representing the interests of Tigran Arakelyan during the interview with hra.am reporter said that hra publications that helped to unmask the real face of so-called "victim" policeman from Kentron District Police department Erik Poghosyan, contributed to quashing the case. The latter is involved in another case which is in the conduct of General Investigation Department. Allegdely Erik Poghosyan subjected to torture 18-year old Sh.D. and her sister. As it recently became known, this policeman by his unbridled behaviour played an important role also in torturing Sasha Davtyan, the father of the girls, at the Kentron District Police department.

"The police had no other way out but quashing the case. The police simply saved Eric Poghosyan," said lawyer Varduhy Elbakyan talking to us. "If they did not feel the danger, this case would have a continuation just like other political cases. I am convinced that unmasking Eric Poghosyan directly affected such outcome of the case." 

Let's remind that 28-year-old Tigran Arakelyan was arrested last year on July 1 in connection with the fight in the center of Yerevan when young activists were distributing leaflets informing about a rally. The young men stated that on Abovyan Street they were attacked and beaten by unknown people; as a result all three were injured and hospitalized.  

After the incident Tigran Arakelyan was arrested and charged with several articles - "hooliganism" and "using violence against a policeman". Later the accusation was aggravated, the second part of the same article was added which provides for up to 10 years of imprisonment. Precautionary measures against him were changed only in October basing on the diagnosis of the Health Ministry chief ophthalmologist.

Both Tigran Arakelyan and his friends had told the details of the incident; that unexpectedly some 10-15 men in civilian clothes had attacked them without introducing themselves or presenting any documents and tried to take away the loudspeaker and leaflets but seeing that they could not do it, they started to curse and hit them with the hilt of their arms.

Despite the fact that details and reality of the incident became known to the community, the police made a statement saying that the young men had used violence against policemen, had beaten them with sticks and batons when the police presented their documents and tried to stop the argument of about 60 people. As a result police officer Eric Poghosyan was hospitalized.

"Eric Poghosyan has been testifying in courts on different March 1 cases as a witness or aggrieved party. He is known also for his testimonies in the "case of the seven". He was always and everywhere, this time he was here, claims to be beaten, to have injuries. He has given obviously false evidence," says the lawyer.         

Several representatives of police elite, including head of police Alik Sargsyan, made statements supporting Eric Poghosyan. Head of the Kentron district police department Ashot Karapetyan severely condemned "violence committed against policemen" and went further describing the scene of beating the policemen:

"How can one inflict injuries to someone then cut out the pictures where the policeman is knocked down and kicked in the head?" said the head of the Kentron district police department and threatened: "They have to answer for it!"

However, it turned out that the police had nothing to say. "No evidence was obtained that would prove that Tigran Arakelyan as well as Sahak Muradyan and Herbert Gevorgyan charged within the same case had shown resistance to the police," this was what the police had to say, and it was known from the very beginning.  

Varduhy Elbakyan has added that she is not satisfied with quashing the case due to "insufficiency of evidence".

"The case has to be quashed on the ground of absence of corpus delicti. We are going to apply first to the higher prosecutor to change investigator's resolution, then to the court," the lawyer said.    

Zhanna Aleksanyan

P.S. We assume that the police will make appropriate conclusions. It turns out that protecting honor of the regiment is not always advantageous. As our sources in police mentioned some time ago, "putting Eric Poghosyan in privileged situation will one day work against them."