Torture at Police Station and Zero Charges: The Case of Tigran Ulubabyan
28.03.2025
By Aram Tadevosyan
#Democracy Watch – On March 17, lawyer Roman Yeritsyan posted on Facebook about Tigran Ulubabyan being tortured by officers at the Lori Regional Police Department and being subjected to insults. Thanks to several media outlets, the incident received widespread public attention. The story of an individual’s rights violation quickly shifted to a broader discourse, from police impunity and extracting confessions through violence to obstructing legal counsel and discriminatory treatment toward people from Artsakh. Let’s try to understand how this case, not unique for Armenia, became a topic that disrupted social solidarity.
Concealment of Crimes and Impunity
Radio Liberty, which has been following all developments in Tigran Ulubabyan’s case, reports that this year there have been two more alerts about Lori Regional Police officers extracting confessions through violence or threats, but no officer has yet been charged. Hetq provides more comprehensive statistics nationwide: “In Armenia, an average of 180 reports are submitted annually regarding violence against citizens by law enforcement representatives. Between 2018 and the first six months of 2024, 1,167 such reports were submitted. Based on these, 1,112 criminal proceedings were initiated. However, over the past 6.5 years, only 20 cases have been sent to court with indictments.” In this regard, the media outlet expresses legitimate concern that the internal investigation initiated in Tigran Ulubabyan’s case, which was later suspended and replaced with criminal proceedings, might also be merely formal. The victim’s lawyer shares the same concern and called for a protest demanding the suspension and arrest of the police officers suspected of torturing Tigran Ulubabyan.
The lawyer, as well as several figures who joined the protest, characterized the position of Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan on the case as biased. The minister noted that the forensic examination did not confirm the bodily injuries reported at the medical facility. “I emphasize again, I’m not making an assessment, I’m stating that there is a citizen’s report claiming intense beatings every ten minutes, various injuries, eight people involved, and yet no injuries were sustained from these alleged intense beatings every ten minutes, and this wasn’t confirmed by an independent expert conclusion—this simply must become a subject of objective investigation,” she declared. The minister also questioned whether the same person could display proper police behavior days earlier—upholding the law and ensuring the safety of others—only to transform into an officer grossly violating human rights days later. Arpine Sargsyan assured that if the police officers’ guilt is not proven, the appropriate individuals will be held accountable for false accusations.
Legal Process Against the Lawyer
A new turn in Tigran Ulubabyan’s case occurred on March 22, when the system “struck back.” That day, his lawyer Roman Yeritsyan reported that law enforcement had launched a campaign against him. The same day, it became clear that criminal proceedings had been initiated against the lawyer based on a citizen’s complaint, on suspicion of extorting money through fraud. Yeritsyan denies any connection to the criminal act and insists that law enforcement deliberately misled the citizen who submitted the complaint.
Discrimination and Divisive Speech
Tigran Ulubabyan’s case quickly began to be viewed as discriminatory treatment and deliberate targeting of people from Artsakh. In a Facebook live stream addressing the legal pursuit against him, the lawyer declared he was convinced the campaign was being conducted because of his Artsakh origin. Former Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan echoed this sentiment, considering the entire process as a new wave of a campaign launched by the authorities against people from Artsakh. Some opposition figures also began characterizing the case as an action directed against Artsakh Armenians.
At this stage, it is difficult to definitively claim that Tigran Ulubabyan’s case was a manifestation of discrimination against people from Artsakh, considering previous reports of torture at the same police station. It is, most likely, a consequence of a more systemic problem of police violence.
Conclusion
Currently, no police officer suspected in Tigran Ulubabyan’s case has been charged. Experience shows that the vast majority of cases of violence in police stations remain unpunished. Armenia’s law enforcement structures continue to be a closed system where crimes can be investigated by circumventing the law. The publicity that the victim’s lawyer and the media have managed to secure is significant, and once again police violence has come to public attention. This is more of an exception because the public doesn’t learn about many similar cases, but even in this instance, there is no guarantee that Tigran Ulubabyan’s case will receive an objective investigation.
Democracy Watch is a joint initiative of CivilNet and the Regional Center for Democracy and Security.
This material has been funded by UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.