POLICEMAN AND TORTURES ARE STILL COMMON PHENOMENA

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| 13:45:49 | 16-05-2005 | Social |

On November 26, 1987 in Strasbourg Armenia signed the European
Convention about “Preventing Tortures and Punishments Humiliating
People’s Dignity”. In spite of this fact, today the combat against
tortures in the Armenian prisons is great problem.

Today in the American University Center a round table was organized
devoted to the signing and ratification of the UN Convention against
tortures. The discussion was organized by the non-governmental
organization “Civic Society Institute” and the international
organization “Improvements in International Prisons”.

According to Mathew Pring, expert of the Tortures Prevention
association, the UN Convention non-obligatory Protocol regulates the
system of regular visits of national and international experts to the
prisons. According to him, suchlike visits not only prevent tortures,
but also give the experts the possibility to investigate the attitude
towards the prisoners themselves.

According to Temik Khalapyan, head of the Social investigations and
observations group, for the last year no cases of torture have been
recorded, but the general state of the prisons is very bad. As he
says, the Vanadzor isolator is in a terrible state and the building
needs urgent reconstruction. As for tortures, there are many cases in
temporary isolators. According to him, “The combat against tortures
must first of all be regulated in the police and the policemen must
not be allowed to abuse their rights”.