About 100 citizens, including 23 journalists, harmed in Sari Tagh – Armenian special investigation agency

YEREVAN, August 31. /ARKA/. As many as 99 citizens, including 23 journalists, were harmed on July 30 in Sari Tagh, Yerevan, the press office of Armenia’s Special Investigative Agency reported on Wednesday.   

According to the press release, an appropriate investigation is under way now.  

Six persons are already charged with obstruction of journalists’ professional activity – two of them are now in pretrial detention and four remain at large pending trial.  

Six Sony video cameras, two Canon video cameras, one Canon camera, one Panasonic video camera, two lightening devices, one mobile phone rack, one couple of earphones, one mobile phone depot battery, one iPhone 5S mobile phone recharger and the passport of reporter Marut Vanyan were lost or destroyed.

Some 47 people sustained fragmentary injuries, five get burns and 36 were victims of physical violence. 
Now the investigators continue collecting and analyzing evidence – videos and testimonies.  

As many as 74 people have been quizzed since then, 63 have been recognized victims, 11 have been questioned as witnesses and two others refused to come to the investigation agency to testify.  

Armenia’s special investigation agency continues investigating the incident in Yerevan’s Sari Tagh, where people supporting the Sasna Dzrer Group that revolted against the authorities were severely beaten and injured by specific means the police applied against them. 

Thousands of citizens took to the streets in support of the group members who seized the police regiment compound on July 17 and held it over two weeks demanding that their leader Zhirayr Sefilian is released and Serzh Sargsyan, Armenian president, resigns.   

Dozens of demonstrators were taken from Sari Tagh to hospitals with injuries on July 30, when the police dispersed the rally by using specific means. There were also journalists among the severely beaten people.  --0----