‘I’ll whack you right here’ – Police Chief recounts dramatic moments from 2016 Yerevan hostage crisis

14:31, 6 February, 2019

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Police Chief of Armenia Colonel Valeriy Osipyan has testified in court today regarding the 2016 Yerevan hostage crisis case when gunmen ambushed a police station (Erebuni station).

In his testimony, Osipyan, who served as Deputy Police Chief of Yerevan at that time, said that in the early morning of July 17, 2016 he received a call that the headquarters of the patrol police service has been seized by gunmen.

“Upon being notified, I rushed to the [station] on my patrol car,” he said.”Upon reaching the Erebuni police station, I saw a group of officers and patrol vehicles. I noticed a minivan and an ambulance parked at the gates and I saw that people armed with assault rifles are moving sporadically, I also saw officers of our department. The men immediately reported to me on what was happening and urged me to take cover from sporadic gunfire”, Osipyan says.

“One of the men had radio on him, I heard and recognized the voice, it was Pavlik Manukyan’s voice, I immediately understood that they have breached into the station and seized our radio devices. I contacted him immediately on the radio. I said, Pavlik, Pavlik…he went – yes, who is it? I said this is Colonel Osipyan speaking, he replied – yeah, what’s up, I said – I recommend you to come out and lower your firearms,” Osipyan said.

According to him, Manukyan accepted the offer to come outside and speak, and Osipyan, together with Deputy Chief of Police Vardan Yeghiazaryan, who was on the scene, approached the building.

Then, when Osipyan and Yeghiazaryan were approaching the building, they saw one of the gunmen standing across the street, and at that time Pavlik Manukyan, together with two other gunmen, came out.

Osipyan says the conversation was tense and he understood that negotiating will not succeed. “We were trying to find out if anyone is hurt, they said they have helped whoever was in need and that they don’t have fatalities”.

“We were about to return when Sedrak Nazaryan [gunman] grabbed my radio, I resisted, they began pushing me, everyone drew their weapons on me, threatening “I’ll whack you here””. Osipyan says the gunmen then began hitting him with their weapons, he says he was battered by 5-6 gunmen, and he was trying to defend himself.

He was then taken inside the station where other hostages were being kept. “There were eight officers with us, some were handcuffed. They handcuffed us also. We didn’t stop negotiating, I succeeded in convincing them to uncuff us.

Then I was taken outside. They gave me a loudspeaker and they drew their weapons on me – “Address the officers and tell them to lower their weapons and join us, or we will kill you right here”. And this threat lasted for 3-5 minutes. I didn’t comply, I simply addressed officers by saying: “Dear officers, this is your colleague Colonel Osipyan speaking. Please, don’t shoot at this direction, and they will not shoot in your direction”. The gunmen then said “this isn’t what we want”. But the Colonel said “I can’t do more than that”.

Two of the 10 assailants are currently under arrest. The remaining seven were released on bail.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan