The head of the European Union Delegation in Yerevan and the EU resident ambassadors have replied to a letter from Taguhi Tovmasyan, an MP from the opposition Pativ Unem bloc who heads the Armenian parliament’s Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, concerning police violence against opposition protesters in Yerevan last week.
“I had addressed Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, regarding the use of special means by policemen on June 3. I informed the Ambassador about the alarms according to which the expiration date of the used special means had already been over and in congruence with the professionals’ reviews the expired ammunition appeared to be a reason for the severity of the injuries of protestors and policemen. I also told the Ambassador that as oppositionists confirm, the police didn’t inform the protestors about the use of special means in advance,” she wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
The lawmaker requested for public comments, arguing that it could help prevent a recurrence of “inadmissible” police operations in the future.
“On behalf of Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, and Heads of Mission of the EU member state embassies resident in Armenia (Heads of Mission, Ambassadors: Embassy of France, Embassy of Germany, Embassy of Italy, Embassy of Greece, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Netherlands, Embassy of Czech Republic, Embassy of Lithuania, Embassy of Italy, Embassy of Slovak Republic, Embassy of Romania, Embassy of Bulgaria), I got the following reply: It is important that people are able to voice freely their opinion or disagreement, and law enforcement and police forces should refrain from excessive use of force. Both disproportionate use of force by Police servicemen and the use of force against Police servicemen by the protestors are unacceptable. Violent incidents, including the use of special measures on the 3rd June, need to be investigated. In some cases, this is already happening,” Tovmasyan said.
“The Ambassador has raised her concerns with the Minister of Justice and she is in regular contact with the Human Rights Defender, who requested explanations from the police about the types of the special measures used, their compliance with the permissible criteria for use, as well as the need, proportionality and suitability of their use in the given situation.
“Ambassador Wiktorin also highlights the utmost importance to refrain from hate language and provocations, and all parties should deplore any form of violence coming from either sides. The EU Ambassador assures me that the EU delegation will continue to carefully observe the developments,” the MP noted.