YEREVAN. – A criminal case has been instituted on charges of obstructing the legal professional activity of a journalist, in connection with the incident between former chief of police Vladimir Gasparyan and a reporter of RFE/RL and an investigation is underway. Armenian News-NEWS.am was informed about this from the information department of the Police of the Republic of Armenia (RA).

To note, on August 8, RFE/RL reported that Vladimir Gasparyan had obstructed the professional activities of their journalists. In particular, while preparing a report on illegal private houses and other structures located on the shores of Lake Shana, the former police chief obstructed the respective work by the RFE/RL crew. He, according to this news agency, drove his vehicle in the direction of these journalists, threatening to run over and physically destroy them, as he cursed at them and demanded not to show his mansion.

And on Sunday, Gasparyan's lawyer Tigran Atanesyan informed that he was going to file a lawsuit on behalf of his client, in connection with the actions of RFE/RL staff. "The RA citizen’s constitutional rights—the rights to the inviolability of the residence, the privacy of private and family life—must be protected from everyone," Atanesyan had noted, in particular.

Later, the lawyer informed that an operative group had left Yerevan for Sevan to detain Vladimir Gasparyan.