Statement on the overcrowding of the penitentiary institutions
26.07.2010
During the last years increase of the number of the people deprived of liberty was observed; during the last one year the number of the people deprived of liberty was increased by more than 20%. Penitentiary Institutions are overcrowded. In particular, as of July 1, 2010, 4850 people deprived of liberty are kept in the penitentiary institutions designated for 4396 people. For instance, in "Nubarashen" penitentiary institution in the cell designated for 8 people, twice more even up to 20 people are kept. The beds are not enough, as a result the people deprived of liberty sleep by turns, some of them at night, some of them in the afternoon. Less than 2sq.m area is allocated to every person deprived of liberty, whereas according to RA legislation, as well as international standards at least 4sq.m should be afforded. Overcrowding causes health and physiological problems, lack of air, deterioration of the health, physiological tension and conflicts. These keeping conditions are interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and in certain cases also as torture.
The reasons of the overcrowding are the following; increase of the number of crimes, wide usage of the detention as a measure of restraint by the courts. Whereas when interpreting article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights as well as article 9 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (right to freedom) European Court of Human rights and Human Rights Committee have pointed out that detention is the most severe measure of restraint and should be used as a measure of last resort and only if less restrictive measures cannot ensure the proper conduct of the defendant and due administration of justice.
The other reasons are limited usage of alternative punishments and conditional release on parole. According to the data of 2009 only 14% of the prisoners who had opportunity to be released on parole were approved for the release. This is conditioned by the factor that there are no relevant criteria on which the committees on conditional release can make their decisions. Besides, the members of the independent committees on the conditional release on parole represent state bodies, including law enforcement bodies, are led by the interest of their departments and subjective factors.
In order to terminate human rights mass violations in the penitentiary institutions we find that decision on amnesty should be made.
We, the undersigned, express our deep concern about the current situation and call upon the competent authorities to take actions aimed at the solution of the overcrowding of penitentiary institutions.
We call upon the investigative bodies, and the judiciary to use the detention as a measure of restraint only as a last resort, preferring alternative measures of restraints.
We call upon the RA Court of Cassation to follow the usage as a precedent by other courts of its interpretations given about the detention as a measure of restraint (the case of Aslan Avetisyan)
We call upon the judiciary to enhance the usage of alternative punishments. We call upon RA President, RA National Assembly, RA Ministry of Justice to reform the system of the conditional release on parole.
We call upon RA President and RA National Assembly to make a decision on amnesty.
Arman Danielyan
Civil Society Institute NGO
Mikayel Baghdasaryan
Collaboration for democracy centre NGO
Lusine Harutyunyan
"S. Sandukht Virgin Union of Women" NGO
Edmon Marukyan
Youth Center for Democratic Initiatives NGO
Levon Nersisyan
"The A.D.Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Protection Center" NGO
Avetik Ishkhanyan
Helsinki Committee of Armenia NGO
Laura Gasparyan
G. Magistros Medical Centre NGO
Arthur Sakunts
Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor Office NGO
Gayane Shahnazaryan
"Huso Aragast" NGO
Marat Dadunts
Rights Information Center NGO
Suren Iskandaryan
Human Rights Yerevan Center NGO
Araik Harutyunyan
Rights Protection International Department NGO
Grigor Arustamyan
Law and Human Rights Defense NGO
Temik Khalapyan
"Trtu" NGO
STATEMENT
04.06.2010
On May 10, 2010, the EU General Affairs Council approved the negotiating directives for the future Association Agreements between the EU and Armenia. It is stated that deepening of the relationship between the EU and the countries of the South Caucasus are to progress on the basis of shared values and principles, including democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
We acknowledge the policy of European integration as the most advantageous for Armenia’s prospects to become a truly democratic and prosperous country and for its people to live in an open and just society. For this we welcome this development as the Association Agreement can provide an expedient route for comprehensive integration.
However, we believe that the radical improvement of the current state of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, good governance and justice in Armenia as a condition for deepening of the relationship that is based on values and principles. For the relations to strengthen and lead eventually to value-based integration, urgent and concrete steps should be taken as preconditions and guarantees of sufficient level of honoring the values themselves. We also urge that the concrete benchmarks be set and made public for the progress to be measured against.
For us the Armenian civil society working in diverse areas of democratic institution strengthening, rule of law, human rights and good governance, who have closely observed and studied current trends and mounting problems, the immediate and priority actions that the government should undertake to be able to engage in a meaningful and advantageous integration process benefiting Armenia’s economy, democracy and social makeup are the following:
1. Restore justice and the right to fair trial by conducting effective and full investigation of March 1 killings and releasing political prisoners.
2. Tackle the oligarchic structure and merge of politics and economy by constituting minimal necessary mechanisms for a competitive economy. Put in place functioning mechanisms for fighting the conflict of interests at all levels of government, most urgently at the higher echelons of governance.
3. Carry out immediate measures to lift control of broadcast media. Ensure diversity in the media market through ensuring transparency of tenders on licensing of broadcasting. Improve broadcast legislation to ensure independence of regulatory bodies. Involve the media community and civil society in the process of legislation reform and policy development reflecting the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting
4. Ensure true independence of judiciary by making changes in the appointment and management of judges, increase transparency and impartiality of judicial processes and keep the judges accountable for unlawful and unethical behavior.
5. Put an end to the atmosphere of impunity for police brutality and torture in police custody investigating and prosecuting police brutality and opening the police detention to public monitoring.
6. Ensure a competitive political process prior to parliamentary elections in 2012 by curbing abuse of administrative, media and human resources. Exclude intimidation and other violations during the election campaign, voting and counting.
Armenian Helsinki Committee
“Asparez” Journalists’ Club
Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression
Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor Branch
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation - Armenia
Transparency International Anti-corruption Center
Yerevan Press Club
Human Rights Watch letter addressed to RA Prosecutor General
28.04.2010
Agvan G. Hovsepian,
Prosecutor General, Republic of Armenia
Via Facsimile: +374 10 58 44 22, +374 10 511 646
Dear Mr. Hovsepian,
Human Rights Watch is writing to express its profound concern about the death of 24-year old Vahan Khalafian, who sustained a fatal injury while in the custody of the Charentsavan police station on April 13, and to urge you to conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation into
circumstances of his death in accordance with Armenia’s international obligations.
Khalafian and four other men were detained on April 13 in Charentsavan, a town about 40 kilometers north of Yerevan, on suspicion of stealing 1.5 million drams worth of goods from a fellow resident. Police publicly reported that while at the station, Khalafian grabbed a knife from a police major’s office while a policeman was not paying attention, and stabbed himself in the stomach. He died hours later in a hospital.
There is some concern that Khalafian may have been ill-treated prior to his
death. Arthur Sakunts, leader of the Vanadzor branch of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (HCA), spoke to two other detainees who were interrogated in neighboring rooms to Khalafian while he was being interrogated. The two men, who have been released, alleged that they could hear noises indicating that Khalafian was ill-treated during interrogation. Khalafian’s mother also told the local media that in addition to lacerations on his chest and two puncture wounds in his abdomen, Khalafian also had multiple bruises on his legs. While it is impossible for Human Rights Watch to ascertain how and where Khalafian sustained these bruises, this raises concerns about possible ill-treatment of Khalafian in police custody.
In an interview with local media on April 14, Republic of Armenia Police Chief Alik Sargsian flatly denied allegations that Khalafian was ill-treated in custody and stated that “there were no traces of violence on Khalafian’s body and no policemen used force against him.” He acknowledged that the policemen were not vigilant with regard to the knife, and stated that the incident could have happened anywhere else, as Khalafian suffered a mental disorder and was exempted from military service for that reason in 2005. Sargsian also stated that Khalafian was one of the ringleaders of the theft.
We are aware that Armenia’s Special Investigative Service (SIS) is conducting a preliminary investigation into Khalafian’s death. SIS took over the criminal case launched by the Armenian police investigative department in accordance with article 110, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (causing somebody to commit suicide).
We welcome the initiation of a criminal investigation. But we are concerned that statements by the Police Chief commenting on the state of Khalafian’s body—before the forensic report could be made public—and branding Khalafian as the ringleader in the theft may jeopardize the investigation’s impartiality and independence.
We urge you to ensure that your office conducts an impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the circumstance surrounding Mr. Khalafian’s death. Such an investigation should not exclude the possibility that Khalafian could have been ill-treated in custody. The investigation should be capable of identifying and leading to the punishment of those found to be responsible to the full extent of the law, as required by the Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to which Armenia is a party. Armenian authorities have an obligation to provide a complete and plausible explanation for and account of any death in custody, based on a thorough and independent investigation which establishes the extent of the liability of the authorities in whose custody the deceased was when he died.
Failure to carry out such an investigation and to pursue any appropriate prosecutions of those responsible would bring Armenia in violation of its obligations under the ECHR. The investigation should also look into the efficiency of the medical assistance provided to Khalafian and whether it met the requirement to provide the highest possible standard of treatment.
We also encourage you to take the necessary steps to ensure the rights of Mr. Khalafian’s family are respected. They have a right to participate in and have access to the investigation and to be represented to ensure that their interests are safeguarded. In this regard we welcome the presence of Khalafian’s family member during the forensic examination.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous cases of ill-treatment in custody in Armenia for which no one was held responsible. We are also aware that no one has been held accountable for the 2007 death in custody of Levon Gulyan. It is of paramount importance to break the cycle of impunity in such abuses through rigorous investigation and prosecution of abusive law enforcement officials.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
Sincerely,
Holly Cartner
Executive Director, Europe and Central Asia Division
cc:
Alik Sargsian, Chief of Police, Armenia
Andranik Mirzoyan, Chief of Special Investigation Service, Armenia
Acquittal of human rights defender Arshaluys Hakobian
22.02.2010
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Paris-Geneva-Yerevan, February 16, 2010. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), along with the Civil Society Institute, Helsinki Citizen's Assembly Vanadzor Office, the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, the Collaboration for Democracy Centre, Transparency International Anti-Corruption Centre, as well as the Foundation Against Violation of Law, welcome the acquittal of human rights defender Arshaluys Hakobian.
On February 5, 2010, the Court of General Jurisdiction Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan acquitted, in the absence of evidence, Mr. Arshaluys Hakobian, a member of the Armenian Helsinki Association and press photographer of the official website of the organisation (www.hahr.am).
Our organisations recall that on June 6, 2009, the Court of First Instance for Kentron and Nork Marash Districts had placed Mr. Hakobian in pre-trial detention. His arrest followed his attempt to monitor the elections for the Mayor of Yerevan together with a group of observers. After he had filed a complaint to challenge denial to accede a polling station, the police summoned him and eventually arrested him. Mr. Hakobian was charged with "violence against a Government representative" pursuant to Article 316 of the Criminal Code and his trial started on September 16, 2009.
On October 16, 2009, the Court of First instance of Kentron and Nork Marash Districts of Yerevan decided to release on bail Mr. Arshaluys Hakobian, who had been in pre-trial detention for four months. Immediately after the hearing, Mr. Hakobian had to sign a document by which he committed not to leave the area. He eventually walked out of the court room free and the trial was postponed pending complementary investigation.
Our organisations welcome Mr. Arshaluys Hakobian's acquittal, and thank all the persons, institutions and organisations who have intervened in his favour.
Nevertheless, our organisations denounce that, in the course of his detention, Mr. Arshaluys Hakobian was subjected to acts of ill-treatment. We therefore urge the Armenian authorities to order a thorough, immediate, effective and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the sanctions provided by the law, in conformity with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Armenia.
Source: http://hra.am/en/point-of-view/2010/02/16/statement
URGENT APPEAL To the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
23.01.2010
We are appealing to you in regards to recent changes in the composition of the Armenian delegation to the PACE imposed by the chairman of the Armenian Parliament. Those changes are in clear and blatant violation of the principles set out in Rule 6.2 of the PACE Rules of Procedure, according to which national parliamentary delegations must be composed of membership that ensures a fair representation of the political parties or groups represented in their respective parliaments.
The ultimate aim of this hypocritically formulated reshuffle is to deprive the representative of the only real opposition party represented in the Armenian parliament, the unequivocally opposition “Heritage” party, which has consistently condemning the ongoing violations by the Armenian authorities of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and further weakening of the principles of democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Armenia, of the right to voice in the PACE the genuine concerns of the Armenian people, to deprive “Heritage” party of the possibility to reveal to you the truth about the real situation in Armenia. The basic cause of this reshuffle is the fact that the active participation of the representative of “Heritage” party in the sessions of the PACE, in the sittings of the Bureau of the Group of the European People's Party and, particularly, in the meetings of the Monitoring Committee of the Assembly, was becoming dangerous for Armenian authorities.
The possible ratification by the Assembly of the credentials of the recently reconstituted Armenian delegation will only contribute to the further deterioration of the internal human rights situation in Armenia, and will only encourage and deepen the sense of impunity among the Armenian authorities. The first signs of this are already evident, as one of the more blatant cases of falsified elections, marred by unprovoked violence against journalists, observers and proxies, occurred on January 10, and has been only followed by the unjust conviction of prominent independent journalist and opposition political figure Nikol Pashinyan on January 19, 2010.
Sixty years ago, the founding states endowed the Council of Europe with the task of achieving a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles of personal and political freedoms and the rule of law, which are our common heritage and on which true democracy is founded.
Today we call upon you to challenge the still unratified credentials of the parliamentary delegation of Armenia and to send a clear message to the Armenian authorities that any such decision to unfairly deny the sole opposition party a voice and fair representation within the official delegation to PACE stands in blatant contradiction of each of our common values and principles, including the principle of separation of powers. Thus, we call on PACE to affirm that the patience of the Council of Europe is limited regarding continued violations by the Armenian authorities and that any further delay in compliance with their commitments and obligations is not acceptable any more and is fraught with severe consequences.
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office
Transparency International Anti-corruption Center NGO
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Armenian Committee NGO
Zartonk 89
Journalists for human rights
"Asparez" Journalists' Club
Menk plus
"Huys" NGO
Lawyers for human rights
National citizens' initiative
Ecoera NGO
Youth Center For Democratic Initiatives
Statement Of Human Rights Organizations
09.12.2009
On the human rights day we, the representatives of human rights organizations in Armenia, express our deep concern about the issues concerning with law authorities, court system and administration of justice.
Unfortunately we point out that in 2009 human rights activists recorded a number of cases of torture, forcing testimony, fair trial violations.
As an obvious case we would like to mention 1-2 March events of 2008 and the processes followed.
So far the killings of 10 citizens on the evening of March 1, 2008 as a consequence of a force enforced by the authorities have been undisclosed and the responsible people unknown.
This means that 1609, 1620, 1643, 1677 resolutions of the Assembly of the Council of Europe have not been implemented fully.
Today more than ten political prisoners are still in prison.
We, human rights organizations in Armenia, condemn any kind of violence and demand from the Armenian authorities
1) To present the implemented activities aimed at disclosure of the circumstances of the killings of 10 citizens on March 1,
2) To disclose urgently the circumstances of the killings of 10 citizens and bring to justice the responsible people eliminating exacerbation of the atmosphere of impunity,
3) To release all political prisoners creating a country free from pursuits on political grounds.
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office
Civil Society Institute
Transparency International Anti-corruption centre
Helsinki Committee of Armenia
Armenian Helsinki Association
Collaboration for democracy centre
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Armenian Committee
Foundation Against Violation of law
Right and Freedom Centre
Youth Center For Democratic Initiatives
OSCE HDIM 2009
10.10.2009
The OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting took place in Warsaw, from 28 September 2009 - 9 October 2009. By the invitation of Freedom House YCDI NGO representative participated in the Meeting and had an intervention on the topic of domestic and international election observation missions. Below is the link to the full text of intervention.
International vs. Domestic Observers
http://www.osce.org/conferences/hdim_2009.html?page=documents&author_id=931
Apart from attending the main plenary sessions YCDI NGO representative also took part in side events organized by Freedom House, NGOs from Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as had meetings with official delegations of the US, Sweden and Spain.
Please click on thumbnails to view photos.
STATEMENT OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF ARMENIA
20.08.2009
The authorities of Armenia relying on law enforcement bodies and judicial system freely carry out any order and continue the policy of intimidation and violence towards the disagreeable citizens.
Arrests, beatings and judicial punishment of journalists and human rights defenders, disgraceful trials related to the events of March 1, 2008 over oppositional leaders of Armenia, arrests and beatings of youth movement members struggling for their rights are sanctioned by provost regime of Armenia.
The commencement of a criminal case instituted against Mariam Sukhudyan, one of the leaders of ecological movement is another vivid manifestation of policy of impatience towards the dissidence.
We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations of Armenia which are members of South Caucasian Network of Human Rights Defenders
- demand the competent bodies to stop the criminal case instituted against Mariam Sukhudyan,
- demand the competent bodies to punish the ones who instituted the criminal case
- address the international organizations with a request to support our demands and exert pressure on the authorities of Armenia.
Helsinki Association
Socioscop
Helsinki Citizen Assembly
Journalist Club “Asparez”
Women Resource Center
Vernatun- Wives of Political Prisoners
PINK Armenia
Democracy Today
Helsinki Citizen Assembly of Vanadzor
Youth Center for Democratic Initiatives
Human Rights Watch is Deeply Concerned About Arman Babajanyan's State of Health
03.08.2009
On July 29 Human Rights Watch sent open letter to the Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan encouraging for his immediate intervention in urging the responsible authorities to provide Arman Babajanyan with the highest possible standard of treatment.
July 29, 2009
Dear Minister Danielyan,
We are writing regarding the well known journalist and editor, Arman Babajanian, who is currently nearing the end of his three-and-a-half-year prison term on charges of draft evasion.
We have learned that Mr. Babajanian has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, which is affecting his eyesight and requires urgent medical intervention. We are very concerned about his health and therefore ask for your immediate intervention in urging the responsible authorities to provide him with the highest possible standard of treatment.
Arman Babajanian is the founder and editor-in-chief of Zhamanak Daily, an independent daily newspaper published in Yerevan and Los Angeles, California. He was arrested on June 26, 2006 on charges of evading military service and falsification of documents related to his military service. He admitted to the charges, paid the required fines, and was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison. Babajanian has now served most of his sentence and scheduled to be released in about a month and a half.
In July 2008 Human Rights Watch urged the Armenian authorities to grant Mr. Babajanian's request for parole on good behavior. Despite international encouragement the Armenian authorities did not grant the request.
We hope that you will do everything in your power to ensure Mr. Babajanian's access to the highest possible standard of treatment.
We thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Holly Cartner
Executive Director Europe and Central Asia Division
Human Rights Watch
Domestic Legal Mechanisms for the protection of Human Rights
19.05.2009
On May 19th, 2009 “Youth Center for Democratic Initiatives” (YCDI) Non-Governmental Organization conducted a press conference on presenting the informational booklet entitled “Domestic Legal Mechanisms for the protection of Human Rights” published within the frames of “Human Rights Protection in Rural Communities” project.
The goal of the press conference is the presentation of the booklet in which the author reviews the human rights protection national legal mechanisms with modern developments and through legal analysis. In the certain booklet human rights protection national mechanisms are presented in details which may be a guideline for planning the steps directed to re-establishment of violated rights. In the booklet it was scrupulously presented all possible mechanisms of human rights protection available in Armenia, in particular advocate services, public defending, groups implementing public monitoring, non-governmental organizations and etc. The booklet is foreseen for people with active civil standpoint and non-governmental organizations. It may be useful for university students of legal department and individuals interested in human rights protection.
“Human Rights Education in the Rural Communities” project have been founded by US Embassy in Yerevan and US State Department.
For additional information please feel free to contact Tatevik Matinyan by +(374 322)40910, +(374 91)255898 telephone numbers or visit YCDI NGO web site www.democracy.am.
