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ARMENIAN YOUTH SURVIVES STABBING ATTACK IN POLAND
Heghine Buniatian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24529979.html
28.03.2012
A young ethnic Armenian is being treated for multiple stab wounds
after surviving a suspected racially motivated attack by a neo-Nazi
group in Poland.
The incident took place in eastern Poland's largest city of Bialystok
on Sunday, with the local media identifying the victim as a 21-year-old
Armenian by the first name of Ogsen, who is, presumably, a local
resident.
Bialystok's newspapers, Kurier Poranny, quoted eyewitnesses as saying
that two dozen masked nationalists broke into a local nightclub and
went specifically for the Armenian, who is said to have been brutally
beaten before being repeatedly stabbed and left bleeding.
"They were very confident in their actions, and the impression was
that they had come for a particular person, perhaps they were taking
revenge on him," the club's manager said, according to the paper.
Local media say it is the second attack targeting the young Armenian.
Last April a group of knife-wielding youngsters assaulted Ogsen and his
friends in broad daylight, reportedly hurling racist insults and making
other offensive remarks against the Armenian and his companions. A
braw ensued and Ogsen and his friend managed to repulse the attackers,
inflicting serious injuries on one of them. After the investigation
that lasted for months the court found Ogsen guilty and sentenced
him to two years in prison. "Apparently, that punishment did not seem
severe enough for the skinheads and they decided to wage a vendetta
against him," writes one of the Polish bloggers.
The local police stop short of calling it a crime committed on ethnic
grounds. According to official sources, the investigation into the
attack is ongoing and two suspects have already been arrested. "We
cannot say anything yet, the police are investigating the case and
we hope that much will become clear in the coming days," the Kurier
Poranny newspaper quoted Bialystok's public prosecutor Marek Winnicki
as saying.
"One thing is clear: problems with neo-Nazism are not new to our
country," a Gazeta Bialystok commentator wrote on Tuesday, adding that
the weekend incident revealed just how vulnerable the Polish system
of justice was. "Even though Ogsen suffered an attack a year ago, his
attackers have not been brought to justice until today, because the
prosecution did not provide grounds for bringing a case against them.
The Sunday incident perhaps would not have happened, had the
law-enforcement taken the opposite course of action and investigated
the case of the attackers first," the Polish analyst suggested.
The Armenian embassy in Poland says it continues to follow the
developments in the case and has already sent an official inquiry
to Bialystok's prosecutors and police officials. According to the
information possessed by Armenian diplomats in Warsaw, the current
condition of the attacked Armenian is satisfactory, he remains in
hospital and is under constant medical supervision.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Heghine Buniatian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24529979.html
28.03.2012
A young ethnic Armenian is being treated for multiple stab wounds
after surviving a suspected racially motivated attack by a neo-Nazi
group in Poland.
The incident took place in eastern Poland's largest city of Bialystok
on Sunday, with the local media identifying the victim as a 21-year-old
Armenian by the first name of Ogsen, who is, presumably, a local
resident.
Bialystok's newspapers, Kurier Poranny, quoted eyewitnesses as saying
that two dozen masked nationalists broke into a local nightclub and
went specifically for the Armenian, who is said to have been brutally
beaten before being repeatedly stabbed and left bleeding.
"They were very confident in their actions, and the impression was
that they had come for a particular person, perhaps they were taking
revenge on him," the club's manager said, according to the paper.
Local media say it is the second attack targeting the young Armenian.
Last April a group of knife-wielding youngsters assaulted Ogsen and his
friends in broad daylight, reportedly hurling racist insults and making
other offensive remarks against the Armenian and his companions. A
braw ensued and Ogsen and his friend managed to repulse the attackers,
inflicting serious injuries on one of them. After the investigation
that lasted for months the court found Ogsen guilty and sentenced
him to two years in prison. "Apparently, that punishment did not seem
severe enough for the skinheads and they decided to wage a vendetta
against him," writes one of the Polish bloggers.
The local police stop short of calling it a crime committed on ethnic
grounds. According to official sources, the investigation into the
attack is ongoing and two suspects have already been arrested. "We
cannot say anything yet, the police are investigating the case and
we hope that much will become clear in the coming days," the Kurier
Poranny newspaper quoted Bialystok's public prosecutor Marek Winnicki
as saying.
"One thing is clear: problems with neo-Nazism are not new to our
country," a Gazeta Bialystok commentator wrote on Tuesday, adding that
the weekend incident revealed just how vulnerable the Polish system
of justice was. "Even though Ogsen suffered an attack a year ago, his
attackers have not been brought to justice until today, because the
prosecution did not provide grounds for bringing a case against them.
The Sunday incident perhaps would not have happened, had the
law-enforcement taken the opposite course of action and investigated
the case of the attackers first," the Polish analyst suggested.
The Armenian embassy in Poland says it continues to follow the
developments in the case and has already sent an official inquiry
to Bialystok's prosecutors and police officials. According to the
information possessed by Armenian diplomats in Warsaw, the current
condition of the attacked Armenian is satisfactory, he remains in
hospital and is under constant medical supervision.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress