A police search at home or in the office often comes without warning. Your rights during a search in Armenia are simple to use if you know them: see the decision, call a lawyer, watch the search and check the protocol. What happens in the next hours affects the evidence in the case, and a search is often followed by questioning or an arrest.
The court decision
As a rule, a search of a home needs a court decision. Ask the officers to show it and read it before the search starts. Check:
- which court issued it and the date;
- the address, which must be the place where the search is held;
- in which case the search is held and what the officers look for.
Ask the officers for their names and positions and write them down. If no decision is shown, ask that this is written in the protocol, and call a lawyer at once.
Call a lawyer during the search
You can call a lawyer as soon as the officers arrive. Call at once: the search can start before the lawyer comes. The lawyer can advise you by phone, then come to the place, watch the search and write remarks in the protocol. Tell the officers that you have called your lawyer. Keep the number of your lawyer in your phone and on paper, because the phone can be seized.
Your rights during a police search
- Stay calm and polite. Do not resist and do not block the officers.
- Stay in the room where the search is held and watch where each item is found.
- The officers may first offer you to hand over the items they look for. Ask your lawyer before you decide.
- Do not answer questions about the case before you talk to your lawyer. A search is not questioning.
- Do not sign any statement or explanation during the search.
- Do not hide, delete or destroy anything.
- If children or elderly relatives are at home, ask that an adult stays with them. If someone feels ill, ask for an ambulance.
The search protocol: what to check
At the end the officers write a protocol of the search. Read it in full before you sign. Check that:
- each seized item is listed with a clear description: documents with their name and number of pages, money with the total amount;
- the place where each item was found is written correctly;
- the start and end time of the search are correct;
- all persons present are listed;
- the seized items were packed and sealed in front of you.
If something is wrong or missing, write your remarks in the protocol before you sign. Ask for a copy of the protocol and give it to your lawyer.
After the search
Officers may hand you a summons for questioning at the end of the search, or arrest a person who is present. Read what to do if you are summoned for questioning or arrested. Write down everything you remember about the search while it is fresh: who came, what they said, where they looked. Do not discuss the search or the case by phone or in messengers.
How advocate Marukyan helps during a search
Advocate Mnatsakan Marukyan practices criminal defense only and answers 24/7 when a search is in progress. He:
- advises you by phone from the first minutes and comes to the place of the search;
- checks the court decision and the procedure;
- is present when items are found, listed and sealed;
- writes remarks in the protocol;
- prepares you for the questioning that may follow;
- challenges unlawful actions before the prosecutor or the court.
He works in Armenian, Russian and English. The first consultation is free.
Call +374 91 403961, or write on WhatsApp or Telegram. Advocate Marukyan is available 24/7 for arrests and searches.