REPORT ON ARMENIAN PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS PRESENTED IN YEREVAN
Panorama.am
19:04 05/10/06
YEREVAN, 5 October 2006 – The results of a monitoring of Armenian
prisons in 2005, the conditions and treatment of prisoners, were
presented in Yerevan today.
Prepared by the Public Monitoring Group, it focuses on the medical
services and food the inmates receive, psychological problems, contact
with the outside world, daily exercises, as well as the prevention
of torture and inhumane treatment, and prison personnel.
The Group was established under the Justice Ministry to observe the
rights of detainees and is supported by the OSCE.
"This year’s report is a big step forward for the Public Monitoring
Group, because it offers more concrete facts, recommendations and
analysis," said Silvia Pogolsa, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office
in Yerevan. "I also welcome the constructive co-operation offered
by the Justice Ministry, which provided essential responses and took
into consideration many recommendations suggested by the Group."
Mikhael Baghdasaryan, the Head of the Public Monitoring Group, added:
"Our monitoring revealed that the Ministry implemented some of the
recommendations we made in our 2004 report. We hope that the points
outlined in this report will also be adequately considered and help
improve the conditions of the prisoners."
A practical guide for NGOs on monitoring places of detention elaborated
by the Association of the Prevention of Torture and the OSCE Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was also presented. It
has been translated into Armenian with the help of the OSCE Office
and ODIHR.
The OSCE Office in Yerevan together with the Open Society Institute
Armenia Foundation have been providing support to the Public Monitoring
Group since 2004.