Armenia's Bar Association demands inquiry into incident with "Sasna Tsrer" advocates

Ara Zograbyan, the head of the Bar Association, has called on Vladimir Gasparyan, the Chief of Armenian Police, to punish the policemen, who used violence against lawyers Ara Zakaryan and Lusine Sahakyan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 28, Lusine Sahakyan, who is defending the capturers of the building of the police regiment in Yerevan, reported that policemen used force against advocates, when they tried to talk with a brother of one of the defendants in the yard of the courthouse. Besides, policemen did not allow her to meet the detainee.

Mr Zograbyan has reminded, on the website of the Bar Association, the police boss about the memorandum signed by the two parties on February 8, 2012, according to which the parties undertook to bring to justice policemen or lawyers who violate their professional ethics.

He also reminded Mr Gasparyan about criminal responsibility for obstructing a lawyer's activities.

The incident has drawn attention of the ombudsperson, who demanded from the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Armenia and the Republic's Police to clear out the details of the incident.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.