Epress.am News from Armenia
The trial in the case of the Police of the Republic of Armenia v. Levon Barseghyan (pictured) at the Administrative Court in Gyumri on June 18 was postponed due to the absence of the police representative.
As stated in a press release issued by the Asparez Journalists' Club (of which Barseghyan is the chair), the court session lasted 7 minutes and was paused "because of the absence of the Senior Legal Adviser of the Central Police Division Lieutenant Colonel Sona Melikyan."
The court secretary informed the court that Melikyan had called and said that she is on her way but would be late 5 minutes. The Court, waiting for 5 minutes, asked the respondent Levon Barseghyan's opinion on continuing the session. He said that this was an obvious disrespect by the police towards the Court, but he didn't want the session to be continued unilaterally; thus, he petitioned to postpone the session.
Though the Court reminded him that the preliminary session could be held without the presence of the other party, Barseghyan insisted on the necessity of the presence of the police representative.
The Court decided to postpone the session and inform the two parties about the date and time of the next session with a writ. The press release states that more than 15 minutes after the court session was closed, the police representative still hadn't arrived to the courthouse.
Earlier, at the preliminary session of the same case on April 15, 2014, the police was likewise absent.
"Not one of the 30–50 thousand members of RA Police force was able to represent the police in court, at the hearing of the claim they [themselves] put forward," reads the press release.
Note, police prepared and brought lawsuits against Barseghyan and dozens of other citizens after they and hundreds of other demonstrators organized rallies and marches on December 2, 2013, protesting Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Armenia. More than 100 people were detained during these protests and dozens were slapped with administrative liability suits. Demonstrators claim police violated their right to peaceful assembly.