Epress.am News from Armenia
Authorities have again terminated the investigation into the allegations of abuse of official position for personal gain committed by Hrazdan prison deputy warden Samvel Babayan and officer Leonid Mkrtchyan. The complaint had been filed by former Hrazdan inmate Armen Shamiryan, who claimed that he had come to an agreement with Babayan over selling mobile phones inside the prison. The inmate’s family and friends would buy the phones, while Samvel Babayan would allow their entry into the prison. The profit from the sales was to be split equally between the parties, however, as stated by Shamiryan, the deputy head went back on the agreement, transferred the prisoner to Nubarashen jail, and kept the entire money for himself.
The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office (HCAV), which represents Shamiryan, has appealed the termination decision issued by the Armenian Special Investigation Service at the Arabkir and Qanaqer-Zeytun district court, according to a statement issued by HCAV on Friday.
Speaking to Epress.am, HCAV lawyer Arayik Zalyan said that investigator Begoyan’s decision was based on the fact that the investigation had found no evidence of the prison officials’ involvement in the illegal sale of cell phones.
Zalyan, for his part, insisted during a January 25 court hearing that officials have conducted a faulty and incompetent investigation, the HCAV statement reads.
“It was pointed out that the prison management does not deny the fact that Shamiryan, bypassing checkup, had carried cell phones into the prison; at the same time, however, the investigation has failed to confirm that the phones had been thrown over the prison walls or otherwise smuggled onto the premises. It is thereby evident that the prison security personnel have failed to perform their responsibilities properly, which also needs to be legally assessed. The authority conducting the proceedings took no measures to hold confrontations between Armen Shamiryan’s family members and other people involved in the case, nor did it attempt to locate the cell phones,” HCAV said, arguing that the SIS has issued a biased decision in favor of the prison officials.
The appeal hearing will be held on February 20, 2017.