A video circulated by multiple news websites on Thursday shows Arsen Ghaytmazian, the chief of the Dilijan police department’s investigative unit, repeatedly punching the 16-year-old waiter, Araz Amirian.
According to Amirian’s lawyer, Sasun Rafaelian, a drunk Ghaytmazian assaulted his client after being told to pay for a hotel room upfront.
“He refused to pay [upfront,] saying that he will pay up when he wants to,” Rafaelian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Although the incident occurred on April 10, Armenia’s Investigative Committee commented on it only after the publication of the scandalous video. The law-enforcement agency said it has not brought criminal charges against Ghaytmazian because he has cooperated with its criminal investigation, “fully regretted” his actions and apologized to the victim. It said a prosecutor overseeing the probe has approved the decision.
Rafaelian said that he will challenge the decision in court because he believes it amounts to a cover-up.
Artur Sakunts, a veteran human rights campaigner, also criticized the investigators for not indicting Ghaytmazian. The officer must also be fired by the Armenian police, he said.
“The presence of such policemen in the police ranks must be deemed unacceptable,” added Sakunts.
The Interior Ministry announced, meanwhile, that the officer has been suspended pending an ongoing internal inquiry conducted by the police.
Incidentally, Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian was the police chief of Dilijan when Nikol Pashinian swept to power during the 2018 “velvet revolution.” Ghazarian, who is reputedly a childhood friend of the Armenian prime minister, was repeatedly promoted in the following years.
Some Armenian civic groups objected to Ghazarian’s appointment as interior minister in January, saying that he has resisted police reforms and tolerated police brutality and corruption.