It does not matter whether you shoot someone, or deny him food and water - Larisa Alaverdyan

Head of Against Legal Arbitrariness NGO Larisa Alaverdyan calls on the authorities to immediately punish all police officers who used violence against citizens in the recent days. She does not understand how these police officers can be justified. “Why do they continually repeat the same expression – the death of a police officer has angered all policemen. You are not dealing with a gang; you are dealing with a nation, a state. The use of such phrases humiliates country, the government and the police. All those who are nervous can take a cold shower, it helps,” Larisa Alaverdyan said on July 25. She says the police grossly violated the laws in Armenia and international norms with their maltreatment of citizens. “The country’s head has called everyone responsible for these actions to a consultation but nothing was said about their ill-treatment. This is what bothers me most,” she said. Speaking about the reports that the Sasna Dzrer armed group still holding a Yerevan police building it seized on July 17, has been deprived of water, food and medical services for the past 36 hours, Mrs. Alaverdyan said, “It does not matter whether you shoot someone, or deny him food and water. It does not bring honour to a country, even the most backward ones,” she said in conclusion.