WOMAN CLAIMS POLICE BEAT UP AND OPENED A CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST HUSBAND
02.13.2015 15:22 epress.am
On December 31, 2014, after a car accident in the Nork-Marash
district, Kristine Mangasaryan and three others in the car were
detained by police and a criminal case was initiated against two of
them. Mangasaryan told Epress.am about the incident. According to her,
the police beat them up where the accident took place, as well as in
the police car and at the station.
According to Mangasaryan, the conflict with the police officers began
when her husband Kamo Hayrapetyan, after hitting another car, began to
curse with rage. Police approached, demanded that he stopped cursing.
Mangasaryan attempted to intervene in the argument between her husband
and the police officer, trying to calm them down. One of the officers
pushed her, which subsequently led to a scuffle and then to a fight.
“There were 4 police officers, they later made a call and multiplied
in number. They beat up my husband and his friend, hit my husband with
a baton, they pulled my hair, handcuffed me, and put me in the car.
>From the car, I saw how they threw my husband to the ground. I told
them to release my handcuffs, and they hit me really hard. They also
kicked my husband’s friend in the head. They took us to the police
station. My friend, who was also in the car, had fainted. They brought
her to the station half an hour later,” said Mangasaryan.
According to her, the violence continued at the police station. All 4
in custody were put in one room. “The police officers were spitting
on the men behind the bars. They hit me in the face and my feet and
my husband on his head and arms. Only 4 days later did they take us
for a medical forensic examination, probably in order to give the
bruises some time to disappear,” said Mangasaryan.
One day after, on January 1st, Mangasaryan and her friend were
released, while her husband and his friend were arrested. The medical
examination concluded that the women had received medium to heavy
physical injuries. The medical results of the arrested are still not
available. Mangasaryan also said that a civil lawyer was not provided
to her husband and his friend.
The Investigative Committee’s Press Spokesperson Sona Truzyan told
Epress.am that the arrested individuals were charged with article
316 of the criminal code (using violence against representatives of
the authorities).
According to Truzyan, one of the arrested men demanded a civil
defender in late January, the other in the beginning of February. “A
civil defender is provided only after filling out an application to
the Chamber of Advocates. We received the response yesterday,” said
Truzyan. Note, that, according to the law, a civil defender must be
provided immediately after the suspect demands one.
Sona Truzyan said she did not find the delay of the medical examination
results suspicious. According to her, it depends on how occupied the
experts are at the moment.
From: Baghdasarian