“The Police Chief should apologize to the public” (video)
Besides 9 police officers, three more policemen received reprimand by the RA Police Chief. On June 23 they participated in the violence used against protesters. Member of “No to plunder” initiative has another suggestion to the Police Chief, “The Police Chief should apologize to the public,” says Sofia Hovsepyan. First of all, the policemen, who ordered to disperse the peaceful protest and use water cannons, must be punished, says Coordinator of “Informed Citizens” NGO Daniel Ioannisyan, “Moreover, the policemen must not be held liable through some reprimand or appointing to lower-level position, but they must be held responsible in criminal sense, they must stand trial.” Until today the Special Investigation Service hasn’t involved any police officer in the investigative process. Only one investigator is engaged in the case of violence against hundreds of citizens on June 23, “Let me compare with the case instituted against the protesters by the Prosecutor’s Office on June 22, which, to put it mildly, was instituted on charges of unclear hooliganism. 53 investigator are examining who has committed hooliganism on June 22,” says Daniel Ioannisyan. According to the words of Daniel Ioanissyan the Investigative Committee is examining the abovementioned case with special diligence. Touching upon the violence used against the journalists and the impunity of those who implemented it, he brings an example, “A red beret approached Mkrtich and hit him. It took the Special Investigation Service 10 days in order to find out that there is corpus delicti, and until today neither Mkrtich has been recognized an aggrieved party, nor the police officer was recognized a defendant.”
