The media reported that on the evening of May 3, the former head of the Civil Aviation Department of Armenia, Shahen Petrosyan, was abducted from one of the clubs of Yerevan and beaten. Considering the public interest in this incident and in order to verify this information, the working group set up on the instruction of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia met Petrosyan, the office of the ombudsman reported. According to Petrosyan, the media reports are mainly true. Shahen Petrosyan said he knew one of the people who attacked him, and is going to hand over his photo to the police. The human rights defender Armen Harutyunyan condemns such incidents, and urges the law enforcement agencies to expose the offenders. These incidents violate human rights, and the default of law enforcement agencies may create an atmosphere of fear in society. Petrosyan was reportedly beaten unconscious on Thursday night following an argument with Tsarukyan supporters in a rock club in downtown Yerevan. Petrosyan says he infuriated them by suggesting sarcastically that the club owners post pictures of Dodi Gago, Tsarukyan’s nickname commonly used by Armenians. In his words, three well-built men with shaved heads arrived at the nightspot and forced him out shortly afterwards.
