Angela Tovmasyan Appeals to Law Enforcement: Details

The head of the "Hayeli" Club, Angela Tovmasyan, has appealed to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee, the Attorney General of Armenia, and the Human Rights Defender, demanding that the criminal case regarding the attack on the club be supplemented with charges of hooliganism. She also demands that four young men be involved as defendants, while recognizing herself and the "Hayeli" Club as victims.

Her application states the following: "I have learned from the website of the RA Investigative Committee that an investigation is being conducted at the Central and Norq-Marash Administrative District Investigative Division regarding the circumstances of the incident obstructing the professional legal activities of the 'Hayeli' club. A criminal case has been initiated at the Central Division of the RA Police under Article 164, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code, which has been forwarded to the Investigative Division of Central and Norq-Marash Administrative District for preliminary investigation and is currently under examination. Four individuals—David Hovhannisyan, Sargis Manukyan, Artak Margaryan, and Hayk Stepanyan—have been named as suspects, and a measure of constraint in the form of a signature not to leave has been chosen for them. The basis for initiating this criminal case has been a video circulating on the internet.

In this application, I state that on October 5, 2019, the 'Hayeli' Press Club was attacked by a group of individuals who committed hooliganism and violated the equality of citizens, making various discriminatory statements that obstructed the legal professional activities of me as a journalist. On October 5, 2019, the editorial office of the 'Hayeli' Press Club reported the crime through mass media outlets.

The attackers—David Hovhannisyan, Sargis Manukyan, Artak Margaryan, and Hayk Stepanyan—have close ties with the ruling party in the Armenian National Assembly, the 'My Step' alliance. This claim is also substantiated by the presence of several photographs available on the internet. Their actions, particularly throwing eggs, pasting posters on the club’s walls and doors, as well as their statement that they were prepared to carry out similar actions inside the club if the door had been open, and finally their demand to shut down the media outlet because, according to their claims, the sister of Constitutional Court President Hrayr Tovmasyan, Angela Tovmasyan, has no right to conduct any activities in Armenia, include elements of crimes specifically outlined in Article 143, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code, concerning the violation of citizens' equality, and Article 258, Part 3, Point 1, concerning hooliganism.

Therefore, based on the above, I demand that the existing criminal case initiated under Article 164, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code, concerning obstruction of a journalist’s professional legal activities, be supplemented with articles concerning the violation of citizens' equality (Article 143, Part 1) and hooliganism (Article 258, Part 3, Point 1). I request that David Hovhannisyan, Sargis Manukyan, Artak Margaryan, and Hayk Stepanyan be involved as defendants. I further demand that Angela Tovmasyan and the 'Hayeli' Club be recognized as victims."