Armenian ombudsman urges government to eradicate torture

Arminfo
24 Jun 05

YEREVAN

Armenian ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan proved in one year of her
activities that Armenia really needed an ombudsman’s institute, Agasi
Yenokyan, head of the centre for political and international research,
said during discussions concerning the Armenian ombudsman’s annual
report today.

He said that difficulties in the ombudsman’s work showed that this
institute is independent. “Moreover, we saw that the ombudsman’s
institute influences all three branches of power,” he said.

For her part, presenting the report on the ombudsman’s activity and on
violations of basic human rights in the country in 2004, Larisa
Alaverdyan noted that first of all, it is necessary to eradicate the
practice of torturing people. “Torture often goes unpunished, which
creates an impression of impunity in Armenia,” Larisa Alaverdyan said.

The ombudsman attaches great importance to the issue of life
imprisonment.

“Does the substitution of the death penalty with life imprisonment
imply an amnesty? This issue remains open and demands serious
consideration,” Larisa Alaverdyan stressed.

To recap, ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan presented the Armenian National
Assembly with a report on 2 May, in which she sharply criticized a
number of government agencies for human rights violations.