The events that have been taking place since
April 21 in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia, are at the center of
the Armenian Human Rights Defender’s attention
1. First of all, any act of insult, swearing
and hate speech is absolutely impermissible, regardless of the person who
issues it or to whom it is addressed.
The Human Rights Defender’s position in this
regard is unaltered, and the impermissibility of such acts also concerns the
use of such vocabulary towards the Prime Minister during a number of protests
that took place at the time of the Armenian Prime Minister’s visit to the Syunik
region.
Unfortunately, the issue has acquired a
systemic nature, and public figures, including persons holding public office
have a particularly important role in addressing it. This vicious phenomenon
will in any case increase the tension and have a negative impact on the human
rights protection system.
Such activities should be eliminated in our
society.
The role of the media is also important: they
should not become disseminators of insults, swearings and hate speech and
should pay particular attention while choosing headlines.
2. For
everyone’s information, the Human Rights Defender once again specifically reminds
that his competence does not entail protecting the officials in connection with
the exercise of their powers from the citizens, but to the protecting of a
person from the acts and decisions of the state and local self-government
bodies and officials.
Furthermore, Article 16 of the Republic of
Armenia Constitutional Law on the Human Rights Defender directly stipulates
that the “State and local self-government bodies may not lodge complaints with
the Defender”.
This is the role of National Human Rights
Institutions (the NHRIs) all over the world.
3. The Human Rights Defender’s assessments on
the acts of state bodies and officials in connection with human rights are
presented below.
4. During the Armenian Prime Minister’s visit
to the Syunik region on April 21, masked (not medical masks)
officers from the law enforcement body were accompanying him.
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia records
that this is not only a human rights violation but also rules out the specific
officer’s identification in case of human rights violation or use of force by a
law-enforcement body during possible incidents, and for the purpose of
assessing the legality of their actions.
The presence of masked officers may be applied
for the fight against crime given the circumstances of a particular situation,
but not for ensuring public order in public spaces. Hence, this practice should
be excluded.
The Human Rights Defender spoke out about
these law requirements during the 2018 April events and the 2020 assemblies, masked officers of law-enforcement
bodies were involved to carry out assemblies and other
civil activities in a number of public spaces.
5. From the perspective of human rights in
criminal justice, the qualifying the acts of persons in particular cases by the
Prime-Minister of Armenia during a discussion in the building of Syunik
Regional Administration on April 21, and the discussion of the issue of the operations
of the law enforcement bodies for that specific case, or their ”hard”,
“effective, and special operations”, before the response of the law enforcement
bodies- that is before the response of the bodies mandated by law for this
purpose- was unacceptable.
It is also unacceptable that the published
consultation was attended by representatives from legislative and executive
bodies, who should not have any connection with the subjecting of specific
persons to criminal persecutions in specific cases. As the criminal justice
field is already vulnerable from a human rights perspective, the law provides
an exhaustive scope of subjects with the power to take actions or adopt
decisions interfering with human rights. This legal standard acts as a
particular guarantee for human rights protection and derives directly from the
Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.
6. And in general, for the information of all
officials, the Human Rights Defender specifically states that you are not
authorized to comment on the investigation process of specific people and its
outcome or on specific cases.
By doing so, you are not only making
statements that violate human rights, but you are also impeding the work of law
enforcement bodies, targeting them unnecessarily and creating prejudice in the
society regarding their actions.
7. Last
night, the Human Rights Defender sent a working group with a special instruction
to Goris, Kapan and a number of other communities of Syunik region.
The purpose of the visit is to monitor the
situation on the ground, including monitoring the level of tension, together
with the Syunik regional subdivision of the Human Rights Defender's Office, as
well as to visit Police departments, to have private interviews with the
possible detainees, to protect their rights related to the criminal case
initiated in connection with the April 21 protests in Meghri, Kajaran, Kapan
and a number of other communities of the Syunik region.
8. During the night, as well as early this
morning, the Human Rights Defender's Office received alarming calls from a
number of citizens, as well as lawyers regarding the apprehensions and arrests
in the Syunik region. A number of journalists also made alarming calls.
In particular, lawyer Gayane Papoyan
complained early in the morning that during the arrest of her client, the head
of the Meghri community Mkhitar Zakaryan, his rights have been violated, there
were no grounds to apprehend him, and it was not clarified to her or her client
where was he being apprehended. Besides, according to G. Papoyan, the actions
against her client were done at night, not during the day, without any
necessity or without justification for their urgency.
By investigating the alarming call and the
videos of Mkhitar Zakaryan's deprivation of liberty published by Gayane
Papoyan, the Human Rights Defender recorded issues related to a properly
informing about a number of his minimal rights while depriving M. Zakaryan of
his liberty, including informing the grounds for deprivation of liberty at that
time, to guarantee the right to a legal counsel.
In connection with the Meghri community, an alarming
call was received from 2 lawyers to apprehend 2 people. The lawyers stated that
they were not aware where the law enforcement bodies had taken their clients
and that they did not know the reasons or the place where their clients were
apprehended.
9. Several
alarming calls were received (including from a lawyer) regarding the apprehension
or arrest of people from the Goris community.
In particular, early in the morning, the applicants
stated that they were constantly unable to get information about which law
enforcement bodies the detainees had been taken to or on what grounds and what status
di they have. Their relatives do not have such information as well. This refers
to the deputy head of the Goris community, a member of the community council,
the head of Hardashen administrative district, and several residents of the
Goris community.
The deputy head of Goris community Menua
Hovsepyan informed the Human Rights Defender during a private interview that
after he was arrested from Goris, he was transferred to the Investigative
Committee, but they did not enter the building, and after waiting for about 30
minutes in a police car, they were taken to the building of the Yerevan City
Police Department. According to M. Hovsepyan, the police used violence against
him, in particular, the police officers took him to an office, threw him on the
ground, kicked him, and then dragged him from one room to another and
videotaped the dragging process. They did not allow him to sit in that room, he
was obliged to stay on his feet for about 30 minutes. During all that time he
received degrading treatment, was insulted, and was in handcuffs, with is hands
behind his back.
The same was claimed by the lawyers, who said
that they filed a crime report to the Special Investigation Service. The Human
Rights Defender of Armenia will also send an official letter to the
Prosecutor's Office of Armenia.
Regarding Ararat Aghabekyan, member of the Goris
community council, the Human Rights Defender's Office received an alarming call
that there was no reason to apprehend A. Aghabekyan: He did not take part in
the protest in Shurnukh because he was in bed, most likely with symptoms of a
new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
The Office of the Human Rights Defender of
Armenia registered the attitude of the law enforcement bodies towards Ararat
Aghabekyan, who was in handcuffs in the published video and accompanied by
masked police officers.
The video evidences about the law violating
attitude towards A. Aghabekyan and the actions of law enforcement officers who
are apprehending or arresting him should be investigated not in the framework
of an official, but in the framework of criminal proceedings. Therefore, the
Human Rights Defender will send a letter to the Prosecutor's Office on this
issue.
10. The Defender once again clearly states
that the use of masks and handcuffs without distinction, and without specific
grounds (for example, a real danger of escape, revenge, etc.) is inadmissible.
This problem, unfortunately, has a systemic nature: The Human Rights Defender
has referred to it many times, including in his annual report; this statement
also confirms it.
After summarizing all the mentioned issues, a
separate letter from the Office of the Human Rights Defender will be sent to
the law enforcement bodies, according to their competence.
Written clarifications on individual inquires will
be required regarding the articles of the criminal case initiated in connection
with the protests that took place on April 21 in several communities of Syunik
region, under which the criminal prosecution was initiated in that case.
11. The Human Rights Defender specifically
states that in the current tense situation, law enforcement bodies and, in
general, all public bodies, and officials must act in strict compliance with
the rule of law.
Taking into consideration the fact that there
is a wide public interest in the events that took place in the Syunik region,
Law enforcement bodies are also obliged to take measures to ensure the
legitimacy of their actions or decisions for the public perception.
Any form of violation contributes to the tension.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan
Human Rights Defender of Armenia
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