A regional prosecutor ordered investigators to not only indict but also arrest Arsen Ghaytmazian, the chief of the Dilijan police department’s investigative unit.
A video circulated on Thursday shows Ghaytmazian repeatedly hitting the 17-year-old waiter, Araz Amirian. According to Amirian’s lawyer, the drunk officer assaulted him on April 10 after being told to pay for a hotel room upfront.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said later on Thursday that it has not brought criminal charges against Ghaytmazian because he has cooperated with its criminal investigation, “fully regretted” his actions and apologized to the young man. It said a prosecutor overseeing the probe has approved the decision.
The decision was strongly condemned by the victim’s family and human rights activists. It also sparked outrage on social media. Two pro-government members of the Armenian parliament added their voice to the uproar.
“We, the parents, haven’t forgiven and will not forgive him and we will not withdraw our complaint,” the waiter’s mother, Araksya Artinian, told RFE/RL’s Armenia Service. “He must be put on trial.”
The Office of the Prosecutor-General announced afterwards that the chief prosecutor of northern Tavush province encompassing Dilijan instructed the local division of the Investigative Committee to reopen the criminal case, charge Ghaytmazian with assault and seek court permission to hold him in detention.
The policeman will face between three and seven years in prison if tried and found guilty. According to the Interior Ministry, he was earlier suspended pending an internal police inquiry.
“I am ready to apologize to those public circles who may be disappointed with the work of the law-enforcement system because of this case,” said Argishti Kyaramian, the head of the Investigative Committee.
Kyaramian said his Tavush subordinates were wrong to close the case. But he at the same time sought to shift the blame onto the regional prosecutor, arguing that the latter endorsed the initial decision not to prosecute the officer.
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist, accused the Investigative Committee of trying to dodge responsibility for what he sees as an attempted cover-up of the assault. He said that both the Tavush prosecutor and the investigator in charge of the case must at least be fired.
Ani Chatinian, another activist, said police brutality remains a serious problem in Armenia despite police reforms declared by the authorities. She argued that law-enforcement officers are still rarely prosecuted for such abuses.