On November 7, the RA Special Investigative Service, examining the incident between the Police and the ARMENIA Today news agency coordinator Argishti Kivirian, indicted the latter by charges of RA Criminal Code Article 316 (“Violence against a representative of the authorities”) and Article 333 (“False Denunciation”). The measure of restriction applied against the journalist was recognizance not to leave. ARMENIA Today informed of these developments on the same day in the “Argishti Kivirian Forced to Silence” piece.
As we have reported, Argishti Kivirian was detained on August 24, 2013, during the public protests against the construction of a residential building in the vicinity of 5 Komitas avenue in Yerevan. According to the journalist, the law-enforcers beat him in the police car. Argishti Kivirian was summoned to the Arabkir Police Department of Yerevan with injuries and bruises on his face, from where the ambulance transferred him to “Erebuni” medical center. Argishti Kivirian’s story about the incident was posted onto Lragir.am. On August 25, upon the report of one of the police officers, who transported the journalist to the police department, the police instituted criminal proceedings against him on charges of Article 316. In his turn, Argishti Kivirian addressed the Police with a statement about the use of force during his detention. On August 27, upon the order of the RA General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian, all the files of the case were submitted to the RA Special Investigative Service (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, September 2-5, 2013).
Argishti Kivirian’s lawyer Lusineh Sahakian told YPC that the Special Investigative Service considered it unproven that the Police used force against the journalist and qualified Argishti Kivirian’s statement as false denunciation.
