Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On January 14, 2018, RA Police responded to the announcement of HCA Vanadzor chairman Artur Sakunts that no criminal case was initiated against Vahe Enfiajyan and his supporters, since it was not possible to get an explanation from them.

Let us remind that on September 22, 2018, in Media center, “Independent Observer” Alliance representatives Artur Sakunts, Daniel Ioannisyan and Victoria Andreasyan were talking about the observation mission to be conducted by the Alliance and presenting the results of the conducted mediamonitoring, when representatives of Prosperous Armenia Party, presided by Vahe Enfiajyan, broke into the hall and started screaming and accusing conference participants of spreading disinformation about them and conducting counterpropaganda. Actions conducted by Vahe Enfiajyan together with persons accompanying him not only interrupted the press conference, but also hindered the activity of Media center as mass media.

HCA Vanadzor chairman Artur Sakunts made a crime report to the policemen who arrived at the incident scene.

On October 16, 2018, A. Sakunts received RA Police Yerevan Department Central Division investigator A. Voskanyan’s decision dated October 2 on refusing to initiate a criminal case, in which the latter informed that criminal case was not initiated based on the absence of delict.  Simultaneously, he informed that during the preparation of the material, it was not possible to get an explanation from the National Assembly MP V. Enfiajyan and persons who broke into the Media center hall presided by him. According to the police investigator, the identitiy of those persons was not discovered.  Furthermore, all this was stated given the fact that everyone’s faces and actions can clearly be seen in the video provided. The police investigator did not make proper efforts to find out whether the apparently unlawful actions were not organized by Vahe Enfiajyan or another person and whether their actions of obstructing the press conference were not of organized nature. Naturally, such an assessment would be possible to make based on the combination of explanations from both Vahe Enfiajyan and persons who accompanied him, as well as persons who made a report.  

Given all these conditions, the police investigator concluded that there was no premeditation in their actions. On the day of receiving the decision, a publication was made on HCA Vanadzor website.

In the clarification posted on Police.am website, the Police mention A. Sakunts’s statements about it and inform that the inititation of the criminal case based on the materials prepared on the basis of the report made by A. Sakunts was refused on the basis of the RA Criminal Procedure Code Article 35 part 1, point 2, which is absence of delict.

Both in the publication on it made in HCA Vanadzor website and in A.Sakunts’s statements on it, the decision of refusing initiation of a criminal case based on the absence of delict was not denied. However, it is a fact that the investigator made conclusions without taking explanations, furthermore, he announced that it was not possible to get explanations from Vahe Enfiajyan and persons accompanying him, whereas no information on actions intended to disclose their identity was presented. It is also not clear what obstacles there were to find National Assembly MP and to get explanations from him. The investigator did not state the reasons, which itself cannot be considered a serious attitude to the obligations established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code, which are conducting a comprehensive, complete and objective examination of the information presented in the report.

HCA Vanadzor clarifies that the information of not having any explanation from Vahe Enfiajyan and persons accompanying him, who obstructed the press conference on September 22, 2018, was taken solely from the RA Police Yerevan department central division investigator A. Voskanyan’s decision dated October 2, 2018, on refusing initiation of a criminal case. We referred to that decision in our announcements. It is true that it is stated in the decision that a criminal case was not initiated based on the absence of delict, but it is also mentioned that it was impossible to get explanations from Vahe Enfiajyan and persons accompanying him.

RA Police’s attempt at setting these two conditions against one another is not clear.

It should also be mentioned that the decision of not initiating a criminal case was first appealed to the RA Prosecutor General and after getting a refusal, it was appealed in the court.