Epress.am News from Armenia
On July 13, 2010, the security officer in the Grand Candy store on 55/5 Paruyr Sevak in Yerevan’s Zeytun district, attempted to murder 50-year-old Aida Ayvazyan for asking for a valid receipt. This news was conveyed to Epress.am by Ayvazyan herself.
“He wanted to strangle me by the throat; he hit my heart. I have a second-level disability; I have a cardiovascular deficiency. I was simply asking for a receipt, which is established by the RA Government; it even says on the receipt: you win, the state wins [referring to a state lottery of HDM receipts from point-of-sale machines]. They gave me an ineffective receipt, which could not be eligible for the lottery and I asked for another, a valid receipt, but the security officer along with the other shop employees attacked me and began to choke me,” she said.
Mrs. Ayvazyan described how she called the police and reported the crime; however, a criminal case was not launched at the time. Proceedings began later.
“They called me a hooligan and the security officer the victim in this case when a court medical examination revealed bodily injuries on me and not on him. At the same time, they snatched the chocolates I had purchased. About this I have repeatedly contacted RA Police Chief Alik Sargsyan, Aram Tamazyan of the [RA General] Prosecutor’s Office, Andranik Mirzoyan of the Investigations Division — I told everyone about what happened. A few days shortly after the incident, Arabkir prosecutor Sahak Grigoryan threatened me over the phone and said I have to withdraw my complaint; otherwise, they’ll launch a criminal case against me. I myself am a lawyer, I know very well what’s happening here; my numerous complaints have remained unanswered. I’m an educated woman, I have 4 diplomas, I am very well aware of what I’m saying, what I’m doing. It’s reached the level where the entire prosecution system, the police system is criminal, the RA Constitution doesn’t protect the rights of citizens, citizens are defenseless, they’re slaughtering us; they were trying to strangle an educated woman like myself for a HDM receipt,” she said.
Mrs. Ayvazyan added that she’ll be meeting with RA Police Chief Alik Sargsyan on Mar. 30 to discuss this issue.