“If the rally was peaceful in nature, then why was it proceeding in the narrow streets of Sari Tagh, at night…”

The Ombudsman of Armenia made a special report on the 2016 July events of Yerevan, when gunmen ambushed a police precinct and took hostages, followed by demonstrations in Sari Tagh and Khorenatsi Street.

Ombudsman Aram Tatoyan presented the 2016 annual report during a press conference on April 13, and the report regarding the activities of the national preventive mechanism. “Fact-finding works were done, maps were drawn in the locations of the clashes.

In addition, detailed studies were done in media outlets and social media, as well as the cases of hate speech and violence propaganda of those days were researched,”, Tatoyan said. The Ombudsman said a strict assessment is given to separate actions of the police in the report.

“It was obvious that in individual cases the rights of the demonstrators were being violated, each incident if specifically analyzed, the issue of using special measures, in addition the obstruction of reporters is being analyzed, cases of violence, each such practice received strict criticism,” Tatoyan stressed. According to the Ombudsman, a separate analyzes was made over the July 29 clashes in Sari Tagh. The Ombudsman believes the rally didn’t have a peaceful nature on that day.

“If the rally was peaceful in nature, then why was it proceeding in the narrow streets of Sari Tagh, at night, without initial announcement to the police on the intention of going to Sari Tagh. Also it was obvious that it would disturb the residents, where we received complaints from. I think, going to Sari Tagh didn’t pursue a peaceful goal. This is my stance, and it is presented in more detail in the report,” Tatoyan said.