One of the fundamental problems of our law
enforcement system remains the practice when a person is deprived of their
liberty and only afterwards evidence is gathered and grounds are searched for
the deprivation. Unfortunately, this practice has not been eliminated.
During our visits and complaints, we have
recorded specific cases when a person is deprived of their liberty (more often,
by getting apprehended or arrested), and only afterwards it is decided whether
the proceedings should be regarded as an administrative offense or a criminal
one.
Moreover, in these situations, when, for
example, the apprehended or arrested person attempts to reveal the reason why they
have been deprived of liberty or whether the proceedings against them will be
administrative or criminal, as a rule, they receive an answer that it is not
clear yet and that they will be informed whenever it is determined and the
investigator or the prosecutor has made a decision. Not to mention that it is difficult
even for the lawyers to find out the reason.
Among the above-mentioned cases, there are many
instances when a person is deprived of their liberty, for example, by getting
apprehended, but even the law enforcement officer who is responsible for the
apprehension does not know the specific reason for the deprivation of the
liberty.
In such instances, the worst cases are usually the
ones when, for example, the decision on how to describe the act or how to
present the circumstances of the apprehension are only made at the Police
Department, and the decision is made by an officer who has not even
participated in the process of apprehension.
In fact, instead of depriving a person of their
liberty and starting to look for grounds or evidence only afterwards and deciding
whether the proceedings are administrative or criminal, the opposite practice should
be implemented; there must first be grounds or evidence, and only then it will
be possible to discuss questions regarding the issue of depriving a person of their
liberty, by apprehension or arrest.
Mr. Arman Tatoyan
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia
Հայերեն
