Niva Parked in Prohibited Area and Uttered Sexual Insults Towards Police Officers

On November 10, 2019, a citizen parked a "Niva" vehicle in a prohibited area in Republic Square. According to the Public Relations Department of the Republic of Armenia's Prosecutor General's Office, police officers conducting patrol services in the area warned the driver about the violation and requested the vehicle to be removed. However, the driver, identified as K.E., ignored their legal requests and directed sexual insults towards them.

After police attempted to detain him, the driver resisted, while five residents from the city of Artik obstructed the police actions and removed the individual from near the police vehicle. Two nearby police officers tried to intervene, during which one of the involved individuals pulled one of the officers, causing an injury to the officer's neck.

The following day, an individual involved in the incident, identified as D.I., presented himself at the Artik police station. During the relevant procedural actions at the police department, he argued with two police officers, spat sexual insults, issued threats, and broke a cabinet in the office. He took a kitchen knife from the broken cabinet and attacked one of the officers, attempting to strike him. This was prevented by other staff members who were present in the office and by those who arrived due to the commotion.

Under the pretext of feeling unwell, he left the office and, accompanied by some uncles in the Artik police department, did not comply with the police's legal requests, disrupting the normal functioning of the department as he left.

In connection with these incidents, criminal cases have been initiated in the Investigative Department of the Shirak Region's Investigative Committee under Articles 258, 316, and relevant parts of the Criminal Code of Armenia. On November 20, 2019, K.E. was charged under Article 258, part 2, while D.I. and his uncles S.U. and E.U. were charged under articles 258, parts 1 and 2, and 316, part 1.

Upon the direction of the Shirak region prosecutor, the investigator submitted a motion to the Shirak region court of general jurisdiction requesting the selection of detention as a preventive measure against the accused individuals. The prosecutor overseeing the legality of the pre-trial investigation participated in the hearings and defended the motions. All four motions regarding the imposition of detention on these individuals were granted by the Shirak region court of general jurisdiction. The investigation is ongoing.