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ACCUSATIONS BY ACTIVIST: EDITOR CLAIMS POLICE OUT OF LINE AGAINST PROTESTERS
http://armenianow.com/news/48282/yerevan_protests_customs_union_armenia_police
NEWS | 06.09.13 | 15:59
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
An activist who has been detained several times during the recent
frequent acts of protest in Yerevan says the police is acting in
a systemized and pre-arranged manner and that all this is just the
beginning.
Armenia Today editor, civil activist Argishti Kiviryan, facing one
criminal and three administrative charges, told the press on Friday
that "the regime in Armenia is using its two main pillars - the police
and the criminal world - in an attempt to break the recently shaped
active civil wave" and that "the authorities detect danger in this
civil involvement".
He claims that the total of around 100 activists have been detained and
taken to various police stations as a result of the recent protests
against the raise of public transport fare, private parking lots,
the construction on Komitas street and Armenia's membership in the
Customs Union. In the majority of cases administrative motions were
filed against them.
"I have no guarantees today that while walking in the streets of
Yerevan some police officer won't approach me and subject me to some
kind of violence. The recent cases of steps taken against me are
a proof of that. I am dealing with political persecution in terms
of my professional and public activities. It can't be defined as
anything else," says Kiviryan, predicting that tougher processes are
yet to come.
He says that three times during the past month he has been taken to
the police station - first on August 5 from the vicinity of the city
hall, then on August 24 he got detained during the protest against
the construction on Komitas street, and on September 4 during the
rally against Armenia joining the Customs Union held on Baghramyan
Avenue, when ten others had gotten detained earlier and he had gone
to Arabkir police station as a representative of Armenia Today news
agency to find out what was happening. He claims that the detentions
were accompanied with violence, but no criminal cases were filed.
The police issued a statement today responding to media reports
about assaults against civil activists in recent days and alleged
inaction from police. It said such allegations were groundless,
giving assurances that investigations are being conducted regarding
every case. It also urged witnesses to come forward to help police
with the investigations guaranteeing confidentiality of the informers.
http://armenianow.com/news/48282/yerevan_protests_customs_union_armenia_police
NEWS | 06.09.13 | 15:59
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
An activist who has been detained several times during the recent
frequent acts of protest in Yerevan says the police is acting in
a systemized and pre-arranged manner and that all this is just the
beginning.
Armenia Today editor, civil activist Argishti Kiviryan, facing one
criminal and three administrative charges, told the press on Friday
that "the regime in Armenia is using its two main pillars - the police
and the criminal world - in an attempt to break the recently shaped
active civil wave" and that "the authorities detect danger in this
civil involvement".
He claims that the total of around 100 activists have been detained and
taken to various police stations as a result of the recent protests
against the raise of public transport fare, private parking lots,
the construction on Komitas street and Armenia's membership in the
Customs Union. In the majority of cases administrative motions were
filed against them.
"I have no guarantees today that while walking in the streets of
Yerevan some police officer won't approach me and subject me to some
kind of violence. The recent cases of steps taken against me are
a proof of that. I am dealing with political persecution in terms
of my professional and public activities. It can't be defined as
anything else," says Kiviryan, predicting that tougher processes are
yet to come.
He says that three times during the past month he has been taken to
the police station - first on August 5 from the vicinity of the city
hall, then on August 24 he got detained during the protest against
the construction on Komitas street, and on September 4 during the
rally against Armenia joining the Customs Union held on Baghramyan
Avenue, when ten others had gotten detained earlier and he had gone
to Arabkir police station as a representative of Armenia Today news
agency to find out what was happening. He claims that the detentions
were accompanied with violence, but no criminal cases were filed.
The police issued a statement today responding to media reports
about assaults against civil activists in recent days and alleged
inaction from police. It said such allegations were groundless,
giving assurances that investigations are being conducted regarding
every case. It also urged witnesses to come forward to help police
with the investigations guaranteeing confidentiality of the informers.