On June 17, 2012, Vahe Avetyan, head of the ENT Department of Yerevan Garrison Hospital, and two other military doctors were brutally beaten at “Harsnakar” restaurant, owned and operated by Republican Party MP and the President of the Armenian Football Federation Ruben Hayrapetyan. These three men were beaten by Hayrapetyan’s personal security detail and restaurant employees.
On June 28, 2012, Vahe Avetyan, the 33-year old father of two, succumbed to his extensive injuries and passed away after never regaining consciousness.
Throughout the years, Hayrapetyan has demonstrated disregard for the rule of law, and has engendered a reprehensible atmosphere of impunity for those in his inner circle.
During one of the press conferences on Hayrapetyan has publicly threatened to personally beat people and “punish” journalists who dare to speak out against him; Hayrapetyan also suggested his son would impregnate one of the journalists
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnkg82tYZBg&feature=share (Title: Confessions of Armenian MP Ruben Hayrapetyan. The video is subtitled in English].
Hayrapetyan has maintained that those involved in Avetyan’s beating are closely associated with him, including a member of his personal security detail. While initially resistant, Hayrapetyan was forced to step down from Parliament, after a strong public outcry demanding his resignation, on July 3, 2012.
After the death of Mayor Vahe Avetyan thousands of Armenians gathered in front of “Harsnakar” restaurant to raise their voice against the criminal oligarchic system. Ruben Hayrapetyan once again showed his disregard for the law, when he publicly slapped a lawyer in front of the people and police.
That is why we are calling on the UEFA and FIFA to stand with the Armenian people and to request that Hayrapetyan steps down from his position as the president of the Armenian Football Federation.
While we understand that UEFA and FIFA do not have jurisdiction over who leads the Armenian Football Federation, we believe that such a request will serve its intended purpose of condemning the impunity with which Hayrapetyan conducts himself, and will force the Armenian authorities to demand Hayrapetyan’s resignation from the Armenian Football Federation.
In a sport that brings together people of all creeds and color, the likes of Hayrapetyan should have no place to sow their seeds of fear, impunity, and intolerance.
Stand with us. No mobsters in UEFA and FIFA!
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