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HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER CLAIMS COVER-UP IN POLICE CUSTODY DEATH PROBE
Ruzanna Stepanian
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/2052484.html
25.05.2010
Armenia -- Vahan Khalafian, a 24-year-old man who died in police
custody on 13 April 2010, undated.
A prominent human rights campaigner looking into the recent suspicious
death of a young man in police custody has accused investigators of
attempting a cover-up by supporting the suicide theory advanced by
the police.
Head of the Special Investigative Service (SIS) Andranik Mirzoyan told
RFE/RL on Monday that the completing investigation into the death of
Vahan Khalafian, a 24-year-old resident of Armenia's central town
of Charentsavan, was likely to endorse the police claim that the
suspect had committed suicide. The official said the investigation
based on the findings of forensic experts was likely to conclude
that Khalafian stabbed himself to death at one point while being
interrogated at the police station.
Meanwhile, Khalafian's family and a considerable number of human
rights activists in Armenia insist on the deadly torture version.
Khalafian and several other young men were detained by the Charentsavan
police on April 13 on suspicion of stealing 1.5 million drams ($3,900)
worth of goods from a local entrepreneur. He was found dead later that
day. The Armenian police claimed that Khalafian was not ill-treated
during the interrogation and committed suicide.
However, initially the SIS called this version of events into question
by arresting two police officers on charges of abusing their powers
and driving the suspect to commit suicide. Based on the findings of
forensic experts, however, the SIS later appeared to be giving more
weight to the police version.
Armenia -- Head of the Helsinki Civil Assembly Vanadzor office Artur
Sakunts at a press conference, Yerevan, 06May2010Artur Sakunts, head of
the Vanadzor-based regional branch of the Armenian Helsinki Citizens'
Assembly, told RFE/RL on Tuesday that the SIS has not yet provided
answers to a number of important questions that could shed light on
the circumstances of Khalafian's death to show that he was killed.
The human rights campaigner, in particular, called it suspicious that
no traces of knife stabbings had been found on the suspect's clothes,
which, he said, showed that Khalafian was naked at the moment of death.
"First there is the question of two stabbings. There is no answer as
to which stabbing was first and which was second. No answer is given
to the question as to how a person could stab himself twice after
he had been subjected to torture of that sort. Another question that
hasn't been answered yet is from where the knife had appeared or who
had given it to Vahan Khalafian to kill himself," said Sakunts.
According to Sakunts, the role of the second interrogator who was
present in the room, as testified by Khalafian's brother, is also
unclear.
"In short, the experts ought to have answered the following question
- what impact could the traces of violence on Vahan Khalafian's body
could have on his actions?... Whether a person in that condition was
capable of making any movement. These are questions that give us more
grounds to suspect murder," said Sakunts.
The human rights campaigner also said that the desire of the SIS to
complete the investigation quickly also speaks for its attempt to
cover up the case. "It is unheard-of in the practice of Armenia that
such crimes be revealed in such a short period of time," Sakunts said.
Armenia's Ombudsman also challenges the official version that Khalafian
committed suicide after being tortured.
Armenia -- Human rights ombudsman Armen Harutiunian.
"I don't think this version is probable. This has already become
a pattern - to go to a police station and commit suicide there,"
Armen Harutiunian said in an RFE/RL interview on Tuesday.
The state human rights defender promised to give a more detailed
assessment of the case after the end of the investigation.
The SIS head told RFE/RL the investigation was nearing completion and
the case was likely to be submitted to court already at the beginning
of next month.
From: A. Papazian
Ruzanna Stepanian
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/2052484.html
25.05.2010
Armenia -- Vahan Khalafian, a 24-year-old man who died in police
custody on 13 April 2010, undated.
A prominent human rights campaigner looking into the recent suspicious
death of a young man in police custody has accused investigators of
attempting a cover-up by supporting the suicide theory advanced by
the police.
Head of the Special Investigative Service (SIS) Andranik Mirzoyan told
RFE/RL on Monday that the completing investigation into the death of
Vahan Khalafian, a 24-year-old resident of Armenia's central town
of Charentsavan, was likely to endorse the police claim that the
suspect had committed suicide. The official said the investigation
based on the findings of forensic experts was likely to conclude
that Khalafian stabbed himself to death at one point while being
interrogated at the police station.
Meanwhile, Khalafian's family and a considerable number of human
rights activists in Armenia insist on the deadly torture version.
Khalafian and several other young men were detained by the Charentsavan
police on April 13 on suspicion of stealing 1.5 million drams ($3,900)
worth of goods from a local entrepreneur. He was found dead later that
day. The Armenian police claimed that Khalafian was not ill-treated
during the interrogation and committed suicide.
However, initially the SIS called this version of events into question
by arresting two police officers on charges of abusing their powers
and driving the suspect to commit suicide. Based on the findings of
forensic experts, however, the SIS later appeared to be giving more
weight to the police version.
Armenia -- Head of the Helsinki Civil Assembly Vanadzor office Artur
Sakunts at a press conference, Yerevan, 06May2010Artur Sakunts, head of
the Vanadzor-based regional branch of the Armenian Helsinki Citizens'
Assembly, told RFE/RL on Tuesday that the SIS has not yet provided
answers to a number of important questions that could shed light on
the circumstances of Khalafian's death to show that he was killed.
The human rights campaigner, in particular, called it suspicious that
no traces of knife stabbings had been found on the suspect's clothes,
which, he said, showed that Khalafian was naked at the moment of death.
"First there is the question of two stabbings. There is no answer as
to which stabbing was first and which was second. No answer is given
to the question as to how a person could stab himself twice after
he had been subjected to torture of that sort. Another question that
hasn't been answered yet is from where the knife had appeared or who
had given it to Vahan Khalafian to kill himself," said Sakunts.
According to Sakunts, the role of the second interrogator who was
present in the room, as testified by Khalafian's brother, is also
unclear.
"In short, the experts ought to have answered the following question
- what impact could the traces of violence on Vahan Khalafian's body
could have on his actions?... Whether a person in that condition was
capable of making any movement. These are questions that give us more
grounds to suspect murder," said Sakunts.
The human rights campaigner also said that the desire of the SIS to
complete the investigation quickly also speaks for its attempt to
cover up the case. "It is unheard-of in the practice of Armenia that
such crimes be revealed in such a short period of time," Sakunts said.
Armenia's Ombudsman also challenges the official version that Khalafian
committed suicide after being tortured.
Armenia -- Human rights ombudsman Armen Harutiunian.
"I don't think this version is probable. This has already become
a pattern - to go to a police station and commit suicide there,"
Armen Harutiunian said in an RFE/RL interview on Tuesday.
The state human rights defender promised to give a more detailed
assessment of the case after the end of the investigation.
The SIS head told RFE/RL the investigation was nearing completion and
the case was likely to be submitted to court already at the beginning
of next month.
From: A. Papazian