For a long time there were recorded many cases of violence against people not taking part in the gatherings in the capital Yerevan, and in some cases also against civilians who disagree with the views, calls and actions of the participants of the gatherings, threatening, using violence, as well as damaging the property.

 

On the ground of the monitoring of police officers' reports, citizens' alerts, mass media and other Internet communication resources, criminal cases were initiated under Articles 118, 226.2, 316, 258 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and are in the stage of preliminary investigation, materials on 1 case are being prepared for.

 

Particularly it is worth mentioning the incident of hooliganism that took place on May 8 in Shirak Region, when a group of people, getting out of the car, approached the elderly men standing at the public transport station on the Yerevan highway of Gyumri town and hit on various parts of bodies. Regarding the mentioned case, 7 persons were charged in the criminal case initiated under Article 258, Part 4 of the RA Criminal Code, detention was chosen as a preventive means against 3 of them, and one person has the status of a suspect.

 

Another outstanding case was recorded on 11 May, 2022 when the participants of the action closed the entrances of the administrative building of the Yerevan Municipality one of the participants, disobeying the legal demands of the police officers, used violence against them, gave threats and tried to hit the policemen with his head. This person was previously prosecuted and arrested on suspicion of committing various crimes, including robbery in aggravated circumstances, kept illegally a firearm and committed hooliganism with it.

 

In general 14 persons have been charged for committing criminal acts described in the criminal cases, detention was chosen as a preventive measure against 7 people.

 

Based on the above, the RA General Prosecutor's Office reminds citizens that participation in peaceful, legally defined gatherings is their constitutional right, and the positive duty of the state is to ensure their peaceful duration and the rights of the participants. The illegal actions by officials, citizens and participants of gatherings were and will be given an adequate legal assessment by the RA Prosecutor's Office.

 

At the same time, the Prosecutor's Office of RA also calls on to demonstrate a high level of civil consciousness and refrain from criminal actions avoiding inevitable criminal responsibility.

 

Intolerance will be shown to such acts and measures will be taken to identify the persons who commit such acts, assessing these criminal actions and ensure the inevitability of the criminal responsibility.

 

Notice: Every person suspected in or charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent unless proved guilty in the manner prescribed by the RA Criminal Procedure Code and unless the verdict comes into legal force.