Policemen suspected of involvement in the death of a 24-year-old youth arrested in Armenia

Ashot Arutiunian, chief of Charentsavan criminal investigation department, and police detective Moris Airapetian, suspected of involvement in the death of Vaan Khalafian who died on April 13, have been arrested in Armenia.

The case of the murder of Khalafian is under investigation by the Special Investigation Service. A criminal case has been initiated against the policemen under articles: 309, 3 - "excess of power" and 101, 1 - "incitement to suicide".

For reference, on April 13, Vaan Khalafian, aged 24, accused of a theft, was brought to the police department of Charentsavan. On the same day, the young man died. The police claim that Khalafian, while being in the crime prevention section of the Charentsavan police department, killed himself with the knife which he had taken from the cabinet in the office of the section chief.

Anait Khalafian, Vaan's mother, told journalists that Vaan had been subjected to torture at the police department.

Note that, according to the data of the Special Investigation Service, about 10 different forensic examinations must be conducted under the criminal case, including the examination of the body, the clothes, nails, finger traces and prints, etc.

According to the results of the body examination which was conducted by the republic's scientific and practical centre of forensic medicine, traces of two knife wounds and traces of scratches inflicted by a sharp object, presumably, by a knife, had been found in the abdomen of Khalafian. The expert examination conducted by the scientific and practical centre revealed that no traces of knifing existed on the clothes of the young man who had died in the police department.

Brothers of the victim's father attended the forensic examination of the body, along with law enforcement agency representatives and experts. Amik Khalafian, uncle of Vaan Khalafian, told journalists that traces of two knife wounds on the body had been confirmed as a result of the forensic examination. Also, according to A. Khalafian, numerous bruises had been found on his nephew's body, proving violence. Amik Khalafian also asks the question: "If the theory of the policemen is correct and his nephew took the knife from the cabinet and inflicted two knife wounds on himself, what did the two police detectives, who were in the same room at that moment, do?".

Today, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) has issued a statement in which it demands that the Armenian authorities should punish the policemen who are responsible for the death of Khalafian. The Federation states that this is not the first case when the body of a person brought to the police was taken out of the police station.

FIDH states that in May 2008, Levon Gulian who had been summoned to police as a witness on a case of murder died in a police department of Erevan. No one has been made responsible for this so far.