The RA Prosecutor's Office attaches importance to close cooperation of citizens with law enforcement agencies in detecting crimes, while emphasizing that the misinformation given by persons regarding the commission of a crime, the accusation of persons, including officials, of committing a criminal act, that is, false crime reporting is an act prosecuted by the Criminal Code and raising public awareness regarding this has a preventive value.
Accordingly, on July 08, 2019, in the Investigative Department of Shirak region of the RA IC, G. V. being warned about the criminal liability envisaged for committing false crime reporting, realizing that the information provided by him was false, accused the employees of Kumayri Division of the RA Police for exceeding their official powers and committing false reporting crime. In particular, G.V. reported that, allegedly on suspicion of committing burglaries, the operatives of the mentioned division on April 11, 2019 at around 13:30 p.m., after bringing him to the division, drewn up false protocol. In addition to that, according to the presented report, the mentioned employees, as well as the Head of the Division, threatened to “break his fingers, detain him, turn his life into hell” and demanded to admit the fact that he committed thefts from the villages of Hatsik and Arapi (Shirak region).
On the fact of the case in the Investigative Department of Shirak region of the RA IC under Part 1 of Art. 309 of the RA Criminal Code a criminal case was initiated. During the preliminary investigation carried out by the the RA SIS, the information provided by G.V. was completely refuted. In particular, on August 09, 2019 G. V. with the letter addressed to the body carrying out the proceedings himself refuted the circumstances indicated in the testimony and report.
On August 15, 2019 a decision was made to suspend the criminal proceedings on the basis of the absence of a crime. On the same day under Part 1 of Art. 333 (false crime reporting) of the RA Criminal Code, a criminal case was initiated. On September 6, G.V. was charged under the above article, after which the criminal case with the indictment was sent to the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction of Shirak region.
On August 12, 2020 by the court verdict G.V. was pleaded guilty under Part 1 of Art. 333 of the RA Criminal Code, he was sentenced to imprisonment for 2 months, which was on the basis of Article 70 of the RA Criminal Code was not conditionally applied, and a trial period of 1 year was established.
By sufficient evidence obtained within the framework of another criminal case investigated in the RA SIS, V.G. was charged for false crime reporting and realizing that the information he provided was false, accused the Senior Investigator of the Investigative Department of Malatia-Sebastia administrative district of the RA IC in falsification of evidence within the framework of a criminal case initiated regarding a grave crime.
During the preliminary investigation, the criminal acts incriminated to the investigator were completely refuted. In particular, V.G. testified that the investigator did not include false information in his testimony, in fact, he witnessed the crime, and the false crime reporting was justified by the fact that he thought that this could help his friend (involved as a victim within the framework of the case).
In the result of the preliminary investigation the criminal case with the bill of indictment was sent to Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, where it was merged with another criminal case against V. G.
Prior to the start of the trial, V.G. pleaded himself guilty and asked for an expedited procedure, which was granted.
By the verdict of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan from 17.08.2020 the latter was pleaded guilty under Point 1 Part 2 of Article 333 and Point 1 and Point 3 of Article 2 Article 34-177 of the RA Criminal Code for committing criminal acts and sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment and a fine in the amount of 800.000 AMD was imposed on him. With the application of Article 70 of the RA Criminal Code, imprisonment was not conditionally applied and a probationary period was established for 1.5 years.
