Epress.am News from Armenia
Journalist, veteran Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”) correspondent Hayk Gevorgyan, speaking about the hit-and-run charges against him, thanked all those who supported him and didn’t believe that he would run over someone and flee the scene. He said this at a press conference in the capital today, adding that he doesn’t rule out the possibility that many people want to make a case against him.
The reporter then provided the details of the incident: on Jan. 13, after interviewing the deputy minister of economy, he approached his vehicle parked just outside the building, got in and tried to back out; however, at that moment, he noticed someone (who was later identified as being Ashot Frangulyan) standing behind the car. Thinking that the man is a parking attendant, he gave him 100 drams for the parking fare. At first, the man moved away, giving Gevorgyan room to back out, but then returned and stood behind the car. This happened about 7 times, said Gevorgyan. However, the journalist insists, when he actually backed out, Frangulyan was nowhere close to his car and in fact, behind the car next to his, but shouted “Ow!” The journalist got out of his car and said he’d call the police.
“I’m going to make sure this case is solved — however long it takes, one year or several years, because there is the issue of my name here… I want the [circumstances surrounding the] incident to be uncovered and for there not to be a single stain on my good reputation. We’re dealing with maniacs, who can’t even picture the consequence of their actions; they don’t see the causal connection,” he said.
He’s not pinning any hopes on Armenia’s judicial system, though, adding that he’s prepared to take the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (after seeing the case through in Armenia’s courts).