After examining the complaints of the
advocate of the former Deputy Head of Staff of the National Assembly Arsen
Babayan and holding a private interview with A. Babayan, the Human Rights
Defender of Armenia records:
1) Arsen Babayan's advocate addressed complaints
to the Human Rights Defender regarding the protection of A. Babayan's rights
both during the day after his arrest and after the detention. The advocate
presented relevant documents evidencing his allegations.
In addition, on October 22 the respective representative
of the Human Rights Defender's Office held a private interview with Arsen
Babayan at the Police detention facility.
Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan had a private
interview with Arsen Babayan at Vardashen penitentiary institution, during
which issues related to his personal liberty, fair trial and a number of other
rights were discussed.
Arsen Babayan did not submit any complaint or
dissatisfaction concerning the Police or penitentiary officers.
2) The Human Rights Defender received
allegations that Arsen Babayan’s arrest is initially illegal, given the fact
that the offence with which he is charged is subject to the 2018 Amnesty law,
and at the end of the criminal proceedings in case of conviction by the court,
he cannot be subjected to imprisonment. Besides, according to the advocate, the
investigator’s arguments that he can escape is unfounded.
In his complaint Arsen Babayan’s advocate
noted that although the court found the arrest unlawful, however the
consideration of the complaint was postponed, giving the investigator a possibility
to initiate a criminal proceeding under another article of the Criminal Code
and to submit to the court a motion on choosing detention as a measure of restraint. The court discussed the motion along with the
appeal on the lawfulness of A. Babayan's arrest.
As a result, according to the advocate, the
court issued a decision on choosing detention as a measure of restraint. The
advocate asserted that the court rejected the request for issuing an
alternative measure of restraint, not taking into account the two minor
children that are under A. Babayan’s care, etc.
3) Another issue raised by Arsen Babayan's advocate
concerns his contact with the outside world. According to the advocate, by the
unjustified decision of the investigator, A. Babayan is also deprived of any
meeting or telephone conversation with family members.
4) Given the above-described allegations
about Arsen Babayan’s rights protection and being guided by the law, the Human
Rights Defender will request additional clarifications from criminal
prosecution bodies in this regard.
Besides, taking into account the data
provided by A. Babayan and the complaints and request of the advocate addressed
to the Human Rights Defender, an official letter will be sent to the criminal
prosecution body, raising the issue of discussing an alternative measure of
restraint instead of detention and the question on whether it has been previously
discussed.
In this regard, the Human Rights Defender takes
into account the fundamental international principle that detention maximally
interferes with the right to personal freedom of a person. It should be a measure
of last resort and exclusively applied with an individual approach in cases when
lawful grounds exist, as well as other preventive measures cannot ensure the
proper conduct of a person in criminal proceedings.
As for the arrest of Arsen Babayan, the Human
Rights Defender has already issued a public statement on 22 October.
One of the most important rights of an
arrested person, especially, for the first time, is the contact with their
family, taking into account the internationally recognized guarantees of this
right. Consequently, the official letter sent to the criminal prosecution body will
also request clarification on the prohibition of visits of Arsen Babayan and
telephone conversations with family members. It will be recommended to consider
removing this prohibition in case there is no such necessity.
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