The Department of Investigation of Crimes on Torture and Abusing or Exceeding Authorities by Officials through Using Violence of the General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases is working in an overloaded mode, but well. Head of the Department; First Class Councilor of justice Yura Ivanyan expressed such opinion within the framework of “The Investigator Presents” series of interviews of Iravaban.net.
– Mr. Ivanyan, how do you assess the effectiveness of the department you lead in the conditions of the overload of investigators? What quantitative and qualitative indicators can you mention regarding the activity in 2022?
– In the conditions of the current overload, I rate the work of the investigators I lead as excellent. First, the department was formed in 2022. From the month of July and the very day of its establishment, a “flood” of criminal proceedings took place. But it should be fair to note that the investigators of the unit showed high professionalism and the number of proceedings could not affect the quality of their work. At this moment, the unit is working overloaded. I definitely want to point out that the General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Case is staffed by experienced and professional specialists who, in addition to being able to cope with work difficulties, do not panic in desperate situations, but also solve the problems and requirements they face in a short time.
– Almost all of your work biography is connected with investigative activities. Were you originally going to work as an investigator, or did it happen because of circumstances?
– In my case, the choice of profession was not due to circumstances. From the beginning, I aimed to get a higher legal education, although there are no lawyers in our family. As for the investigator, that desire arose in me when I was already studying at the Faculty of Law of the YSU.
– You led a number of important departments in the Investigative Committee. In which field, or in the field of crime investigation, do you consider your potential as a leader or as an investigator to be more effectively realized?
– I think that the most important thing is to love the profession and the work of an investigator and to dedicate you to it. If you love your work, this or that field of investigative work gives you the opportunity to invest your full potential.
– Curremtly, you are in charge of a unit that deals with the investigation of crimes committed by officials and especially by law enforcement officers. Do your many years of experience in the investigative body, the environment and connections you have acquired prevent you from ensuring the objectivity of the proceedings?
– It does not constrain or disturb. I always stand by the officer dedicated to the motherland. Those who know me know that lawfulness is my best friend. And based on that, the people who are directly surrounding me, whether from personal, family environment or due to work relationships, on the one hand, try not to show such behavior, which purely in moral sense can be problematic both from the point of view of legality and public perception, and on the other hand, they refrain from trying to exploit these connections, because it makes no sense. I believe that for any self-respecting civil servant, especially an officer, the purity of his path should be valued.
– Mr. Ivanyan, there is a certain opinion among the public that there is a more sparing and lenient attitude towards law enforcement officers who apparently committed a crime. For example, only a few cases of torture end up in court. Are there any legal grounds for such opinions? What is required of the pre-investigative body so that a similar opinion is not formed?
– It is true, quite a number of such proceedings are terminated. However, it should be noted that not selective or special cases are sent to the court, but definitely those cases that objectively have a judicial perspective. And only one thing is required from the pre-trial bodies: to carry out an impartial and comprehensive examination so that any procedural decision determining the outcome of the proceedings, regardless of whether it will be based on an accusatory or rehabilitative logic, does not leave any doubts from the point of view of justification. In my deep conviction, the pre-investigative body, in a broad sense, the law enforcement and judicial system should not be guided by public sentiments, the presence or absence of opinions, but exclusively by the requirements of the law and the right. This is also what the ideology of the legal state demands.
– During your long working activity, have you had cases when a person was sentenced to prison in a specific case investigated by you and later you saw or felt that you had a positive influence in his life?
– There have been many cases when the defendants in the cases I investigated came and met me first after being released from prison. There is the most important standard, that with the stroke of the pen of the investigator, never, under any circumstances should an innocent person be convicted or subjected to persecution and deprivation.
– You have two children. As a father, would you like to see them in the investigative system in the future and why?
– I would like to, but in the way as I have chosen my profession. As I mentioned, there were no lawyers in our family and I made the decision myself. In the same way, I think we should give our children the opportunity to choose their profession as they wish. If you love your work, you overcome difficulties successfully, and unloved work is an additional torture.
This initiative, implemented in cooperation with the RA Investigative Committee and the Iravaban.net website, aims to properly present to the public the main directions of the work carried out by the preliminary investigation body, to reflect on the peculiarities of pre-trial proceedings and other issues of public importance.
