Very Likely That Daniel Ioannisyan Will Regret His Naked Statements, Gor Abrahamyan

The Advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Arthur Davtyan, Gor Abrahamyan, made a post on his Facebook page in response to a publication by Daniel Ioannisyan, the coordinator of the 'Informed Citizens' Union' NGO. Abrahamyan accused Ioannisyan of confusing himself with a judge regarding an incident involving Edgar Petrosyan, the Senior Prosecutor of the Erevan city’s Erebuni and Nubarashen administrative districts.

“Earlier, Daniel Ioannisyan, probably mistaking himself for a judge, posted on his Facebook page about the incident concerning Senior Prosecutor Edgar Petrosyan, reserving the right not only to provide legal evaluations of the actions of the participants in the incident but also to question the legality of the prosecutor's decision to release Mr. Petrosyan from detention and to accuse the entire prosecutorial system of defending 'criminal traditions'. Ioannisyan is neither a witness nor an eyewitness to the incident, nor does he have any access to the materials of the proceedings, nor can he relate at all to the occurred events,” read Abrahamyan’s statement.

He further criticized Ioannisyan for his irresponsible 'fact checking' and warned against jeopardizing the reputation of the entire system through such claims. Ignoring the principle of the presumption of innocence, which should remind even the most basic civility to refrain from making premature judgments in the context of the newly initiated criminal proceedings, we advise Mr. Ioannisyan not to jump to conclusions, to refrain from trying to influence the ongoing legal process with unfounded and irresponsible statements, and to avoid shaping a biased public opinion.

The Prosecutor's Office stated that at a certain stage, without hindering the investigation, they would release the video of the incident. It is highly possible that Mr. Ioannisyan will regret his current naked statements, forced to point out the actions attributed to the patrol officer and prosecutor in the video, which may also put him in a difficult position regarding the misinformation he has been spreading,” Abrahamyan emphasized.

The Prosecutor's Office calls for a respect for legal processes and a culture of making exclusively professional judgments regarding them, noting that it is not illegal to release a wrongfully detained individual but rather to make categorical judgments based on premature information solely motivated by the fact that the individuals making such judgments have participated in the formation of the patrol service,” concluded Abrahamyan.