NAIRI BADALYAN BLAMES ARMENIAN LAW-ENFORCERS

ArmInfo
2010-05-13 15:48:00

ArmInfo. Nairi Badalyan keeps on blaming Armenian law-enforcers.

To recall, Badalyan, a former journalist and currently being in the
USA under political shelter, was a defendant in the case on the act of
terrorism in Armenian parliament in October 1999. Badalyan had been in
this status for over 7 months, and afterwards was acquitted. Badalyan
said that tortures and violence were applied against him over his
detention and further arrest. In this connection, in 2002 a criminal
case was instituted, the materials of which had numerous testimonies
about the traces of tortures on Badalyan’s body. In particular,
the matter concerns the tortures and violence committed by the
investigators of the Military Prosecutor’s Office and their guards,
as well as over Badalyan’s stay in Nubarashen criminal- executive
establishment, including the violence committed by the then head of
this establishment.

As the investigative body has come to no tangible results over the
past 8 years and the case is still being investigated, Badalyan
applied to the first instance court of Armenia in early May 2010
claiming that his rights were violated and demanding that the fact
of the tortures should be acknowledged. However, the court has not
considered Badalyan’s rights to be violated. Having disagreed with
the court’s decision, Badalyan appealed to the Court of Appeal against
the specified decision. The Court of Appeal is still considering it.

At today’s press conference Badalyan once again stated that he was
tortured. He said about 15-20 people – representatives of the Military
Prosecutor’s Office and Nubarashen criminal-executive establishment
– are guilty of applying tortures against him. However, arraignment
of formal charges against three employees of Nubarashen is all that
investigation has managed to do. As regards the role of the then
military prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan, at the moment Badalyan has no
specific claims against him, as Jhangiryan took no part in application
of tortures though he was aware of the tortures.

Probably, Badalyan will insist on accusation after he familiarizes
himself with all the materials of the case. Commenting on the
circumstance that the criminal case has been underway for 8 years,
Badalyan said that nobody doubts that tortures were applied against
him, however, the prosecutor’s office "can neither close the case nor
complete it", as it carries out an order. In general, Badalyan thinks
that there are simply no law-enforces in Armenia in their true sense.

"This is an armed structure serving certain goals and supported
by budget funds",- he said and added that the latter distinguishes
law-enforcement agencies from criminal ones. Summing up his speech,
Badalyan said that in general, both his detention and the tortures
against him, as well as the further investigation, are politically
motivated.

To recall, over the act of terrorism in Armenian Parliament on 27
October 1999, the Armenian prime minister Vazgen Sargsyan, speaker
of parliament Karen Demirchyan, both vice speakers, three MPs and
one minister were killed.