DIGNITY OF UNIFORM
HAKOB BADALYAN

Lragir.am
03/05/10

It is surprising how such a skillful and experienced police official,
as he says one born in the system, like Alik Sargsyan believed so
easily to the lies of the Charentsavan police officers as if Vahan
Khalafyan, who had been brought there and died, was not tortured. The
question occurs who else can so easily deceive a police official and
whether there were other cases when the Chief of Police was so simply
deceived. Vahan Khalafyan’s case was so scandalous and was revealed
because the latter died. How many were those cases in the police
departments which, fortunately, did not end in deaths and passed
without "superfluous" scandals. The simple and logic question occurs
under these circumstances: whether the Chief of Police Alik Sargsyan
controls the current situation in the system.

In general, quite an interesting idea is formed over the police system
of Armenia. When, for instance, the point is about the economic or
political polices, some oppositional figures state that the prime
minister and the ministers give false information to Serge Sargsyan
which then becomes the reason of the wrong policy. So, Serge Sargsyan
does not control the system and he is factually deceived. Whole this
does not decrease his responsibility for the situation because the
most dangerous thing is when the head of a system does not control
it and can be deceived with such ease.

Otherwise, it is quite a convenient version to blame the co-workers
for each mistake and moreover a crime apologizing and promising to
punish those guilty considering at the same time the case closed. In
addition, it is surprising that Alik Sargsyan does not consider it
necessary to apologize to Vahan Khalafyan’s relatives in public.

And in case Alik Sargsyan has really been deceived by his co-workers,
so being an experienced representative of the system, he had better not
hurry to affirm there was no torture. Perhaps, it was worth waiting
for at least one day, or to state that there was again no torture
but he decided to carry out investigation for a clearer answer in
this connection after which he would present his assessment to the
society. While, Alik Sargsyan, without even citing the Charentsavan
police officials, affirmed there was no torture.

Perhaps, Alik Sargsyan was sure that no such a thing would be ever
revealed. In 2007, when the Police chief was Hayk Harutyunyan, Levon
Ghulyan was brought to the police and died there: according to the
official version, he tried to escape by jumping from the window. No
law enforcement body revealed the case or refused the official
version. Maybe the confidence that the Special Investigative Service
will never "spoil the dignity of the uniform" of Alik Sargsyan came
from the "successful" precedent.

Moreover, it surprised many people that the SIS brought up a case
against the officials of Charentsavan police department and revealed
the fact of torture. A series of other precedents, with regards to
Levon Ghulyan and others with, fortunately, no death outcome, gave
reasons to other thoughts. For example, Sasha Davtyan, arrested and
accused of raping her underage daughter from Talin along with her
two daughters presented through press how they were tortured in the
police departments. But this case did not appear in the center of
the SIS attention and no policeman was charged. While Sasha Davtyan
had given concrete names.

Will the revelation of the Special Investigative Service be a new and
expedient precedent for the country and the society or it will be an
exception affirming the rule of the precedents or an action dictated
by inter-governmental contradictions?