168 Zham, Armenia
May 22 2008

Armenian rights activist wounded in brawl

In broad daylight on Teryan Street

A dispute and a brawl occurred yesterday on Teryan Street [in Yerevan]
between Mikayel Danielyan, the chairman of the Helsinki Association,
and Tigran Urikhanyan, the former leader of the Progressive Party, as
a result of which Urikhanyan shot at Danielyan. Each of the sides
presents the reason for the incident in their own way, accusing the
opposite side. Urikhanyan states that Danielyan was drunk, with his
friends, and behaved indecently regarding the young women who were
passing by. Danielyan’s friends state that Urikhanyan approached their
cars, insulted them and then shot at Danielyan.

A brawl on Teryan street

Yesterday at about 1500 [1000 gmt] a dispute and a brawl occurred on
Teryan Street between Mikayel Danielyan, the chairman of the Helsinki
Association, and Tigran Urikhanyan, the former leader of the
Progressive Party.

Mikayel Danielyan received a firearm wound as a result of the
brawl. The wound was not serious and Danielyan and Urikhanyan were
taken to the Kentron police department. What was the reason for the
dispute between the two men – in front of numerous people, with one of
them even shooting at the other? Urikhanyan told us over the phone
that Mikaelyan and his friends sitting in a taxi "behaved indecently
with regard to young women passing by" and that he only beeped the
horn when he saw this. "He stopped my service car and approached,
being under the influence of alcohol and drugs, but let an expert
examination determine this. He started swearing at me in the presence
of numerous witnesses. I took out my legal arm and shot in the air
after he approached, and then I called the police," Urikhanyan told us
modestly.

The other side of the dispute, however, states the opposite. We did
not manage to talk to Danielyan in person. However, a member of the
Helsinki Assembly, Artsrun Babayan, talked to us; he was in the same
car with Danielyan. Contrary to Urikhanyan’s statement that Danielyan
was drunk, Babayan said that Danielyan was not drunk, but tipsy and
that those are different things.

[Passage omitted: description of Urikhanyan’s swearing]

Babayan said that afterwards he [Urikhanyan] shot in Danielyan’s
chest. Although Urikhanyan told us that he shot in the air only and
then called the police, Babayan said that he shot twice – first, in
Danielyan’s chest, wounding him, and only then in the air.

[Passage omitted: Babayan describing Urikhanyan’s actions]

In response to Urikhanyan’s statement that Danielyan and his friends
had behaved indecently with regard to "young women who were passing
by", Babayan said that nothing of the kind had taken place.

[Passage omitted: Babayan saying they did not insult the young women]

Babayan said Danielyan’s health condition was good. He said that they
would of course proceed with the case. "Of course, we will proceed
with the case, they shoot at a person in the street in daylight, why
should we not proceed with the case?" he said.

An employee of the political and economic department of the US
embassy, Marko Velikonja, came to the Kentron police department in
connection with the incident. He said that he had come to clarify what
happened with the human rights activist as he had been alerted to the
incident. Mr Velikonja refused to answer questions saying he was not
informed of what happened. He explained his presence not by the
personality of Mikayel Danielyan but by the fact that a human rights
activist had been attacked. The Helsinki Assembly has alerted all
embassies in Armenia and the ombudsman to the incident.

[translated]