Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor announces that a citizen of Vanadzor city has been tortured in the Lori regional Police Department for confession extraction. This is the second case already taking place at the same Police department, about which the human rights organization receives an alert. 

"Both of them have the same scenario, both aimed to extract confessions," Ani Chatinyan, a lawyer defending the rights of citizens mentioned in an interview with “Azatutyun”. 

One of the incidents took place on January 10. According to Chatinyan, police officers visited the citizen’s home at dawn and invited him to the Lori Regional Police Department, where they used violence and inhumane treatment to force a confession. 

The person subjected to violence refused to give an interview but told the human rights defender that he was kicked, beaten, and humiliated with sexual insults. 

"The dignity of the person has been humiliated in the most extreme ways and with the use of the most humiliating type of treatment," Ani Chatinyan noted. 

The lawyer says that the violence and humiliation were intended to extract confessions from the citizen. Moreover, the citizen was given a choice to "confess" to one of three unsolved crimes in Vanadzor, choosing one "to taste," as the police reportedly put it—relating to either theft or drug trafficking.[...] And a threat was mentioned that no matter what, they must, so to speak, close him in some way, a case must be initiated.” 

Eventually, they made a decision to arrest the citizen on suspicion of possessing or distributing illegal drugs, despite the fact that no confession had been made and no drugs were found on him.

"No objects, no prohibited items, or any signs of a crime were found. A search was conducted, and there were permissible items in his pocket, in particular, money and a personal phone, etc.," Chatinyan emphasized, adding: "At the moment, no criminal case has been initiated against him, and he is not involved in any criminal case."

The relatives of the citizen applied to the human rights organization to seek help.

The organization appealed the arrest decision at the court, which was considered illegal, overturned it, and the citizen was set free from the courtroom. After that, on the same day, the doctors gave the same conclusion, that the citizen of Vanadzor had suffered a concussion and chest contusions.

"After being arrested by the police and immediately after the use of violence, when his sister went to the department and, so to speak, took him out of their hands so that no more inhumane treatment would be applied, he was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where the citizen was diagnosed with a concussion, bruises, etc.," Ani Chatinyan said.

Vanadzor Medical Center has reported it to the police, as well as HCAV has filed a crime report based on which a criminal case has been initiated. The Investigative Committee told “Azatutyun” that the case is in the pre-investigation phase and that there are no defendants yet. The law enforcement bodies do not mention whether the service of the police officers who participated in the incident was suspended or if there is a petition to conduct a service investigation. “Since at this moment, the pre-investigation continues and the necessary actions are being carried out, right now, we do not have any information about the questions that you have mentioned. (Right now, there are no defendants). 

The reason why the young man from Vanadzor was targeted by the police remains unclear. It is also unknown why authorities attempted to link him to unsolved crimes in the city. When the human rights organization raised this issue in court while appealing his arrest, the police representative failed to provide a clear answer, only stating that the citizen had been under surveillance for months and that they had received "operational information" about his involvement in a crime.

"But when I asked what crime he had committed and why it wasn’t clarified at the police station, of course, they remained silent—because the information was false, nonexistent, and fabricated," Chatinyan asserted.

In another case at the same Lori Regional Police Department, another Vanadzor resident has also reported being tortured. The human rights organization is currently verifying the details to ensure the protection of the citizen’s rights.