The RA Police issued a statement about the clash in Gyumri. The statement clarifies the legality of the police actions. The statement reads:
Police of the Republic of Armenia, pursuant to the legislation of the RA, international obligations of the RA, the RA law «On the freedom of assemblies», as well as the provisions vested in the RA law «On the Police», have so far exercised and are still exercising their functions aimed to ensure the full realization of the rights of those participating in peaceful assemblies.
And at the same time police officers have so far ensured national security, public order maintenance, crime prevention, protection of public health, as well as constitutional rights and liberties of other persons.
On Thursday January 15, 2015, the participants of the peaceful assembly which had begun in front of the Public Prosecutor’s office of Shirak marz in the city of Gyumri, started a peaceful march to the Russian consulate. Police were repeatedly calling on the participants not to violate the public order and refrain from unlawful actions while exercising their constitutional rights to freely express their opinion and to hold peaceful assemblies.
Nevertheless, a group of persons who joined the march, began to throw stones and other objects at the police officers, offering resistance to them, and thus preventing them from performing their duty of ensuring the normal course of the assembly and protecting the public order.
To prevent exclusively a few persons from committing unlawful actions, as well as escape the possible negative consequences of such actions, and to ensure the normal course of the peaceful assembly by isolating those transgressors, police officers had to resort to minimal measures aimed to suppress them and prevent riots, as a result of this a number of citizens were detained for violating the public order and not performing the legitimate requirements of police officers.
Unfortunatly, clashes were inevitable; there were injured persons among both the participants of the assembly and police officers; each of them was provided with necessary medical assistance.
Simultaneously, we would like to inform you that on Thursday January 15, 2015, at 10 p.m. a group of persons was detained on the Freedom Square, Yerevan, on suspicion of law breaking.
Police of the Republic of Armenia will continue to provide additional or new information to the public.
POLICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
