It is forbidden to use a flash grenade in public places – lawyer

It is forbidden to use a flash grenade in public places, Varazdat Harutyunyan, a lawyer and a member of the Five Human Rights Activists initiative, told Alpha News.

“There is a misconception that the purpose of the flash grenades used by the police is to injure people, because this is what we have seen. The purpose of flash grenades is to warn and scare; they should be used exclusively in free space at a distance of at least 2.5 meters from people so that the fragments do not cause irreversible damage to nearby civilians.

It is also clear that the guidelines prohibit the continuous use of such measures. The police used a flash grenade not once. It was used incessantly, giving no chance to those nearby to escape. In that case, a journalist, a protester, or an ordinary passer-by has no chance to protect themselves from those fragments,” the lawyer noted.

Harutyunyan emphasized that special measures should not be taken at all.

“Not to warn that special measures will be applied soon, but not to apply special measures at all in places where there are peaceful protesters, people in general.

An administrative body should oblige the police to file a claim for damages caused as a result of its illegal actions. If the police refuse, you should apply to the administrative court.

Injured citizens should be invited to the Investigative Committee for interrogation as witnesses,” Varazdat Harutyunyan concluded.