ARE THE SCENES OF BRUTALITY MOUNTED?

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On September 24, on the 100th day of his tenure of office, Chief of the RoA Police Alik Sargsyan held a press conference. Naturally, most questions addressed to the Chief of Police referred to the March 1 occurrences.

Reporters of “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,” “A1+,” “Haykakan Zhamanak” and “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun” posed a lot of questions which were left unanswered.

They wondered whether the policemen who cruelly beat the citizens in the footage recently revealed by the opposition have been exposed. The chief of the police said he had watched the footage and added it had deliberately been mounted by the authors. The Chief of Police thinks some images are fake and mounted; others are being scrutinized closely by relevant bodies.

“There are images of policemen carrying weapons, which is not strange. The police were carrying weapons as shooting was heard on that day. Carrying a weapon is one thing, whereas shooting from it is quite another thing,” said the Chief of Police.

To remind, a high-ranking policeman had carried a weapon earlier in the day when no shots were heard on the scene.

However, the reporters repeated that they meant the beating of an unarmed man clearly seen in the footage. Alik Sargsyan said a realistic approach is needed. “When there is a crowd, when emotions are on the peak, when the problem of self-defense occurs, it is difficult to expect a policeman to stay calm.” Alik Sargsyan said there were fights for which he was not going to try any policeman.

He also said an investigation had been launched on the basis of the footage to define the punishment for the wrongdoers

The reporters also tried to find out what has happened to the footages of A1+, ALM and Yerkir Media channels, which were confiscated by the police on March 1 and have not been returned so far. Alik Sargsyan said the police have no footages in their possession, and advised to turn to the office of Prosecutor General.

We had better wait until the NA ad hoc Committee investigating the March 1 events completes its work. Much will be clear afterwards.