Activist wasn’t allowed to cross the border
Artak Gevorgyan, author of famous cardboard tank and member of ‘Counterattack’ art group, hasn’t been allowed to cross Armenian-Georgian Bagratashen checkpoint for already the second time. In the interview with “A1+” Artak Gevorgyan noted that after being acquitted by the court, yesterday he wasn’t allowed to cross the border for the second time, “This year I have been acquitted along lines of ‘Cardboard tank’ case, the decision must have come to power in a month. Then I went to the Armenian-Georgian Bagratashen checkpoint. I was arrested and I was told that there was a sanction against me and I couldn’t leave the country. Then police officers of Bagratashen were called, and they were aware that it was “Cardboard tank” case, but they told that the sanction hadn’t been removed from the computer. They released me and told to go and solve my issues, saying that they couldn’t do anything.” To remind, a criminal case was instituted against Artak Gevorgyan, when he staged political action in Yerevan on December 9-10 overnight, 2015, using handmade green cardboard tank and protesting against the Constitutional referendum. He hit the NSS building gates with the tank. Yesterday, before crossing the border, Artak Gevorgyan asked Judge Gagik Poghosyan whether he can cross the border or not, “I also inquired from several relevant state bodies and received positive answer that I can cross, if I have a document given by the court, it means that I was acquitted, irrespective what is written in the computer. But the border guards aren’t interested in the document; they cite the computer data, which shows red mark in front of my name and I am not allowed to cross the border.” He called HRD office from the border, and told that he had been arrested and that he was being taken to Bagratashen police station, “The HRD office told that they have had such cases before, but they cannot do anything, the problem is systematic.” Artak Gevorgyan doesn’t rule out, that these obstacles are manly connected with the fact that his case related to the NSS, “The border guards said that it is one minute’s work to remove my name from the computer, but, it turns out, they don’t do it.” Activist is now near Bagratashen checkpoint, on returning to Yerevan, he will try to find out who is responsible for all this.
