ARMENIAN JUSTICE MINISTER DENIES HARASSMENT OF DETAINED OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS

Aravot
April 9 2008
Armenia

Armenian Justice Minister Gevorg Danielyan has said that detained
opposition activists are not being harassed andthat only few of them
have been denied visits by relatives due to the ongoing investigation.

When people are suspected of possessing illegal weapons, organizing
and participating in mass riots and making publiccalls for a forceful
change of the constitutional order, "the factor of political harassment
is ruled out",Danielyan said in an interview with opposition newspaper
Aravot on 9 April. Any person – regardless of their politicalviews –
should be held responsible if their guilt in those crimes is proven,
he said.

Visits by relatives during the investigation period are forbidden
in the interests of the investigation, Danielyansaid. However, he
added that as of 1 April, only 18 detainees were denied visits and
that the ban has already beenreviewed. Danielyan also said that he
periodically meets the detainees and that each of their complaints
is looked into as stipulated by law.

Danielyan also touched upon the Armenian president’s 1 March decree
on imposing a stage of emergency andrestricting some basic human
rights. He said the decree was entirely in line with the Armenian
Constitution and theEuropean Convention for Human Rights. He also
said that amendments restricting the Armenian law on assemblies would
bediscussed with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission in mid-April
in Yerevan.

In the meantime, opposition Haykakan Zhamanak daily reported on 9
April that three more people had joined the hunger strike of the
opposition activists. Zhirayr Sefilyan, Vardan Malkhasyan and the
editor-in-chief of Zhamanak Yerevannewspaper, Arman Babajanyan, who
were all given prison terms last year, have issued a statement saying
they are joining the hunger strike to voice their support for those
"who have risen to struggle for human rights andliberties".