Lawyer: Armenia will lose if we apply to the European Court of Human Rights (video)
A criminal case was to be instituted not against coordinator of Armenia Today news website Argishti Kiviryan, but against the policemen who used violence against Kiviryan during a scuffle that broke out between police and protestors at a controversial construction site on Yerevan’s Komitas Street in August, 2013, Kiviryan’s lawyers announced at the Court of Criminal Appeals. “When someone is ill-treated, a criminal case should be filed to investigate the occurrence. The same is true in case of Argishti Kiviryan,” said attorney Lusine Sahakyan. The Court of Criminal Appeals today started hearing the appeal of the civil activist against the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts regarding the August 2013 scuffle on 5 Komitas Avenue in Yerevan where Kiviryan was involved as a protester. According to the Special Investigation Service, Kiviryan intentionally hurt himself in a police car on the day of the scuffle while being taken to the Arabkir police station. He inflicted injuries upon himself and was not injured by policemen. Kiviryan disputed the decision at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts but the later rejected the appeal, forcing the civil activist to seek justice at a higher court. Lawyer Yervand Varosyan said, in turn, that if 'they appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, Armenia will lose the case.' Argishti Kiviryan is charged charged under part 1 of Article 316 and point 1 of part 2 of Article 333 of Armenia’s Criminal Code (using violence against a representative of the authorities and false denunciation.
