Armenian law enforcement weighs in on verbal abuse incident involving Nazeni Hovhannisyan
The verbal abuse incident involving Armenian TV star Nazeni Hovhannisyan is viewed as an insult, and since insult is not an offense with criminal liability, police can’t take any measures in this case, Edgar Janoyan, director of the Press, Media and Analysis Department of the Police Force told ARMENPRESS.
“The citizen can file a lawsuit to a court and solve the issue in the civil-legal arena,” Janoyan said.
Asked whether or not this incident contains disorderly conduct, Janoyan said if a person thinks he or she has been a victim of disorderly conduct than the person should file a report in the police department. “The police will launch proceedings on the report and find out if it was disorderly conduct or an insult. I believe, according to Nazeni Hovhannisyan’s post, it was an insult”, he said.
Ara Ghazaryan, international law expert and attorney, says the incident can be viewed as public insult. “We are dealing with civil law relations here. A person can file a civil lawsuit and a court can deliver a verdict on public insult, demanding compensation for moral damages or a public apology from the person who made the insult,” he said.
Images posted by Armenian TV host, model and actress Nazeni Hovhannisyan showing a group of people who allegedly verbally abused her have gone viral on social media.
Hovhannisyan posted a photo of the vehicle belonging to the group of people, showing the license plates. The images were taken outside the Erebuni medical center.
The men, who are seen gathered at the rear of the car, are apparently drinking something and making toasts.
The model said she was visiting her friend at the hospital when the group of men verbally abused her as she got out of her car in the parking lot. “I parked, got out, began walking toward the entry when I heard very disturbing offensive language – “You should’ve come to take a photo with us you [expletive]”.
Hovhannisyan said she responded to the men, and one of them replied: “Whatever, get out of here”. The actress also mentioned that there were numerous passersby who didn’t do anything when the incident happened. She also thanked the security of the hospital, who, according to the actress, intervened immediately upon being notified.
