Authorities discredit police, says rights activist

“The Armenian political authorities are discrediting the police”, stated the head of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor. Arthur Sakunts made the statement at a press conference on Tuesday as he   spoke of alleged violations exerted against Stepan Hovakimyan suspected over a theft from the “Moskva” Cinema. It should be noted that Stepan Hovakimyan and Vahram Kerobyan, charged with a theft at the “Moskva” Cinema on January 10 of 2010, have been in custody for more than a year.

Sakunts, together with Hovakimyan’s lawyer, Vahram Kerobyan, further said that the police officials exerted self-incriminating testimonies from Hovakimyan via tortures.

According to the lawyer, despite several statements by the accused, his lawyer, right-protective organizations and media publications, the law-enforcement bodies refuse to launch a probe into their claims over torture.

Arthur Sakunts further said that 4 of Hovakimyan’s cell-mates submitted a statement to the Court of First Instance of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts, in which they confirmed that Hovakimyan had complained of having pain in various parts of the body after the interrogation. Artur Sakunts does not exclude that the real perpetrator “has shared the money with the Police”. The human rights activist noted that the crime is not revealed in cases of citizens. “Being discredited, the Police want to serve anyone other than law”.

Sakunts and Kerobyan also claimed the police are obeying an order and hiding the actual perpetrator.

Benyamin Hovakimyan, the father of the accused, in turn, said that he also thinks the police are trying to hide the real person behind the crime. “For that reason they want to shift all the blame on one person so that to close this case,” he said. Further, Hovakimyan said that the area of the “Moskva” Cinema is under 24-hour video surveillance by four cameras.

“The police said that the suspect was caught on camera for half an hour which means two hours’ recording,” said he, adding that only a 1.5-minute long edited excerpt has been attached to the case.

“When we demand to be given the entire video, it turns out that it has been lost. How can we believe in that? Will anyone believe that the video recordings of a day of theft have been lost?” asked Hovakimyan. The next court hearing on the case is scheduled on May 25.

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