“Masked Men Beat Me for 4 Hours,” Defendant in Gang Case Wrote Before His Death

Arsen Beginyan, the prosecutor in the "gang case," wants to attach a letter by one of the accused, Arman Dallakyan, who died on September 7, 2013, to the case materials, attorney Stepan Voskanyan informed Epress.am today. 

In his letter, Dallakyan wrote: "I made a confession upon being pressured and beaten by masked police employees of the 6th division. I did not commit assault; I did not have drugs in my possession. Police removed from my pocket a bag of drugs that wasn't mine. I didn't want to sign the protocol — it wasn't mine. I denied that I committed assault, but they said it's all the same, I'm going to stand trial for drug possession. Masked me threw me to the ground and began to beat me. They beat me for around 4 hours, taking turns. I thought they would kill me, [and] that's why I wrote what the investigator said."

The letter was read in the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan on June 11 during the trial.

Other defendants in the case have also repeatedly said they were tortured. 

Recall, in this case, 5 people are arrested and accused of committing burglary in September 2011. The accused (and their lawyers) claim that they are being tortured and testimony obtained under torture shouldn't be admitted in court and become grounds for prosecution.