ARMENIAN OMBUDSPERSON: OFFICERS OF NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE OF ARMENIA KEEP DISCREDITING THE STATE

Pan Armenian News
31.05.2005 08:02

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At 10:30 a.m. today officers of the National Security
Service (NSS) of Armenia came to a limited company engaged in legal
counseling and introduced themselves as if they were officers of the
Ombudsperson’s staff, Armenian Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdian stated
in the course of an on-line interview with OpenArmenia.com. Then,
in her words, by means illegal methods, including attempts to use
coercion, they tried to frighten the staff of the company with a
“document” not having legal force “to invite” the head and the staff
of the company to the NSS “for a conversation”. Getting a competent
and worthy response and not having managed to explain the attempt to
get information on the complaints of persons, who have addressed both
the company and the Ombudsperson, by deception and fraud in any way,
they insensibly disappeared. At that they did not take the statement
of the company head on the happening, though it was already sent
via mail, being addressed to the NSS head. “The fact evidences that
the information that was kept in the processor, withdrawn from the
Office of the Ombudsperson, was available to the NSS and is already
being used for pressure upon other subjects of the society, including
commercial ones,” she stated. “Thus, it is not ruled out that the
information will be used for pressure upon citizens also in the
future,” the Ombudsperson proved. As of the incident of withdrawal
of the processor, letters to the Armenian Prime Minister, President,
National Assembly Chairman are prepared: these describe and qualify
the occurrence and propose taking respective measures at the state
level to prevent similar incidents in the future. At that she noted
that such actions have a least negative impact upon the activities
of the human rights institution.