Armenia: special visit of Commissioner Hammarberg to assess inquiry
progress
Strasbourg, 19.11.2008 – The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights Thomas Hammarberg, will carry out a special visit to Armenia from
20 to 22 November to assess the situation of persons deprived of their
liberty in relation to the event of 1-2 March and the inquiry into those
events.
"I intend to assess the situation of persons deprived of their liberty
and the progress made in discovering the responsibilities of the March
events" he said. "It is essential that a true and factual description of
what actually happened is established. If this can be done it will also
benefit future work to protect human rights in Armenia."
During the visit, he will meet with the President of the Republic, Serge
Sargsyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, the Head of the National Police and the Prosecutor General. He
will also hold meetings with the Chairman of the ad hoc inquiry
committee of the National Assembly and the members of the
newly-established fact-finding group tasked with the inquiry into the
March events, the Human Rights Defender, as well as representatives of
international organisations and civil society. Commissioner Hammarberg
will also visit places of deprivation of liberty.
Last September, the Commissioner published his findings
< CommDH(2008)29&Language=3DlanEnglish&Ver=3 Doriginal&BackColorInternet=3DFEC65B&BackC olorIntranet=3DFEC65B&BackColorLogged=3DFFC679 >
stating that there was an urgent need to reach a satisfactory solution
for prisoners and to hold accountable those responsible for the March
events.
Press contact: Stefano Montanari, Office of the Commissioner,
Tel. +33 6 61 14 70 37; [email protected]
***
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent, non-judicial
institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness
of, and respect for, human rights in the organisation’s 47 member
states. Elected by the Council’s Parliamentary Assembly, the present
Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, took up his duties on 1 April 2006.
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