Epress.am News from Armenia
The internal investigation into the early February altercation outside the government building between police officers and the mothers of several Armenian soldiers who died in the army in non-combat incidents “has not produced any consequences,” a spokesperson for the Armenian police told Epress.am on Tuesday.
To our reporter’s question whether this means that the investigation has been terminated, the official replied; “The incident has been looked into, and it was decided to leave it without consequences. The officers in question have been warned to from now on act with maximum restraint in conflict situations.”
Speaking to Epress.am, for her part, one of the affected women, Irina Ghazaryan, said she had been confident all along that the police would do nothing to punish the law enforcement officers. “Why would they? An internal investigation would not yield any benefits for them. As for the Yerevan police chief who had promised to invite me to view the surveillance footage, he is a liar who goes back on his promises,” Ghazaryan stated, adding that they would appeal the issue to chief of national police Vova Gasparyan.
Recall, on February 9, police officers used excessive force against the mothers of soldiers who died in Armenia’s armed forces in non-combat incidents; the women had gathered outside the main government building with the intention of meeting defense minister Vigen Sargsyan and requesting a meeting appointment with him; however, the guards tried to forcibly make the women leave the area and, according to protester Nana Muradyan, one of the officers went as far as to spit at her and call her a “hobo” and a “humbug.”
On February 10, Yerevan police chief Sargis Martirosyan and the chief of staff of the national police Meruzhan Hakobyan invited Nana Muradyan and Irina Ghazaryan to a meeting to view the surveillance footage of the incident and inform the women that Yerevan police had launched an internal investigation into their allegations.