Hetq earlier reported that Anton Ivchenko, one of the demonstrators protesting Armenia's gas contract with Russia outside the National Assembly on Dec. 20, was beaten while being taken into police custody.

His nose was awash in blood, and the attack led Ivchenko to file a criminal report, which the Special Investigation Service (SIS) is currently investigating. However, the SIS has yet to launch criminal proceedings.

Neither Ivchenko nor the SIS know who attacked him; however, Hetq was able to determine the identity of the officer in question by closely examining video footage produced and uploaded online by CivilNet. The video shows Ivchenko not resisting while being detained by an entire detachment of the 4th Battalion of the Yerevan Department of the RA Police. The moment when Ivchenko is punched in the face is also clearly evident. 

Speaking to Hetq, Ivchenko confirmed the scene on the video, adding that he received a blow from officers one by one both before and after the moment caught on tape, though these are not seen on the video. According to him, the attack that caused his nose to bleed was chronologically the last — it was after the attack caught on tape and immediately before getting into the police vehicle, when the officers blocked the camera's view with their backs.

Ivchenko is not sure that the officer attacking him on the tape is the same person who hurled the last blow that caused his nose to bleed, though he finds that he too should be punished. Nevertheless, Hetq is hopeful that the officer caught on tape who attacked the demonstrator (and whose face is clearly visible) will be penalized. 

Do Police Officers Love to Punch People in the Nose? 

This story confirms that the same person on the same day was punched twice in his nose… and the possibility that the attackers were different police officers is not ruled out. 

And though punching someone in the nose cannot fit into the legality of police actions (moreover, when the citizen does not resist), it is, however, several police officers' favorite mode of attack.

Many of us remember how special battalion officer Artur Ghazaryan (of the red berets) on April 9 last year punched Heritage Party deputy leader Armen Martirosyan in the nose in front of the cameras.

More recent are the incidents on Komitas Ave. in August, when activist Argishti Kiviryan, by his account, was hit on the face by police while being detained. And though Kiviryan's statement resulted in a case for false testimony launched against him, the public, nevertheless, is inclined to believe that police officers hit Kiviryan. 

A separate psychology and sociology division should be opened in order to explain the inclination of police officers to punch people in the nose and people with such tendencies to be admitted into the police force. Nevertheless, it's clear that as long as such people serve in the police force, no one is safe from getting punched in the nose while being detained by police and not resisting.

A separate psychology and sociology division should be opened in order to explain the inclination of police officers to punch people in the nose and people with such tendencies to be admitted into the police force. Nevertheless, it's clear that as long as such people serve in the police force, no one is safe from getting punched in the nose while being detained by police and not resisting.