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A criminal case has been launched against former Armenian Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan for obstructing the legal professional activities of a journalist under Article 164 of Armenia’s Criminal Code.

An investigation is underway, the police press service reported on Monday.

The case is based on a report of the RFE/RL Armenian Service (Azatutyun) on Sunday that the former police chief allegedly obstructed the work of its crew working on a report about government plans to dismantle some private houses illegally constructed near Lake Sevan.

According to the report, the ex-police chief drove his vehicle in the direction of two Azatutyun reporters, almost running over them, after seeing that they were filming in the lakeside area where his house is presumably located.

“Gasparyan further threatened to physically destroy the reporters, using phrases like “I’ll shoot you” and “I’ll slaughter you”. Using offensive language, the former police chief demanded that the reporters not show his house in the report,” Azatutyun said.

Referring to the report and the reactions that followed, his lawyer Tigran Atanesyan stressed no one is allowed to "intrude" into a person’s private and family life, including pro-government reporters and even law enforcement agencies.

In a post on Facebook on Monday, he said it is an “immoral move” to use a surveillance drone to gather video recordings of a person's home, without his or her consent, adding it has nothing to do with journalism.

“This should be a lesson to the "drone riders" who received a fully proportionate response for their immoral behavior, to refrain from violating the constitutional rights of Armenian citizens in the future,” the lawyer added.

Atanesyan later said that he was going to file a lawsuit on behalf of the former police chief over the actions of the Azatutyun reporters.