"ARMENIA EXPERIENCED MOST SERIOUS CRISIS IN 2008"

A1+
[08:19 pm] 14 January, 2009

Human Rights Watch has issued a statement today which holds in part:

Armenia experienced one of its most serious civil and political rights
crises since independence when security forces used excessive force
on March 1 against opposition demonstrators protesting the results
of the February 2008 presidential election. Violent clashes erupted
between police and demonstrators, and authorities arrested several
hundred demonstrators and prosecuted more than a hundred opposition
supporters. A state of emergency temporarily restricted several basic
freedoms, including freedom of assembly. International condemnation
of the use of excessive force during the March 1 events and of the
state of emergency was widespread.

Elections and Election-Related Violence

The February 19 presidential election was won by Prime Minister
Serzh Sargsyan, but was marred by election-day violence and
irregularities. On election day, assailants threatened and
attacked opposition activists protesting what they believed to
be electoral fraud, domestic observers, and journalists at eight
polling stations. Several assaults occurred in the presence of
police and election officials who did not intervene; in one case a
policeman appeared to assist assailants. International observers
also reported violations, including campaigning near polling
stations, ballot stuffing, vote buying, and counting and tabulation
irregularities. Observers criticized the Central Election Commission
for its apparent failure to properly investigate complaints.

On February 20, tens of thousands of supporters of Levon
Ter-Petrossian, the main opposition candidate, took to the streets
in downtown Yerevan. The protests continued peacefully for 10 days.

On March 1, special police forces confronted the demonstrators
using excessive force, beating them with batons and attacking
fleeing demonstrators. Some demonstrators also resorted to violence,
including throwing stones and burning vehicles. The clashes resulted
in at least 10 deaths (eight demonstrators and two police officers),
and scores of people were injured. Police detained several hundred
demonstrators, charging more than one hundred opposition supporters and
others with organizing or participating in illegal demonstrations and
mass disturbances. Police committed due process violations including
incommunicado detention, denial of access to counsel, and failure to
investigate allegations of ill-treatment. Subsequent trial proceedings
raised fair trial concerns: several detainees were convicted solely
on police testimony and in expedited trial proceedings.

The government declared a state of emergency on March 1, temporarily
restricting freedom of movement, assembly, expression, and access to
information. The state of emergency was lifted fully on March 21.

Under pressure from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), the Armenian authorities have taken steps to establish an
independent inquiry into the March 1 events, but have yet to hold
anyone responsible for the deaths.

Media Freedom

Police targeted journalists covering the February demonstrations. On
February 29, police attacked photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan while
he was attempting to photograph them. On March 1, police detained
Shamshyan, took his camera, and beat him; he needed hospital
treatment for his injuries and was released after the intervention
of the Armenian ombudsman. Also on March 1, police hindered a Radio
Liberty correspondent’s work and beat the driver of her car. Police
detained at least two other journalists during demonstrations in
Yerevan and Gyumri.

Under the state of emergency, media could use only official information
from state agencies to report on national affairs. The National
Security Service (NSS) prevented at least seven opposition and
independent newspapers from publishing, and blocked websites. At
least two newspapers protested the restrictions and refused
to print. Although media restrictions were lifted on March 13,
NSS representatives interfered with the same seven newspapers’
printing, allowing them to publish only on March 21. In late
March tax authorities hit at least four newspapers with apparently
politically-motivated audits.

In October, the Court of Cassation overturned a February 29 ruling
against the founder of the Gyumri-based television station GALA
for allegedly illegally using the local television tower, but left
in force a March 19 fraud conviction. The cases emerged following
an October 2007 tax audit that was widely seen as retaliation for
GALA’s airing a September 2007 Ter-Petrossian speech critical of
the government. The Asparez Journalism Club of Gyumri was apparently
targeted for supporting GALA. On January 19, an assailant attempted
to set fire to the Asparez office, and on March 21 two unidentified
men torched a car being used by Asparez director Levon Barseghyan as
he returned to the car from GALA.

In June 2008 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Armenia had
violated article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention
on Human Rights in relation to the independent broadcast company
A1+. The court held that laws regulating awarding of broadcast licenses
failed to protect against arbitrary interference and that denials of a
license to A1+ were unlawful. As of April, A1+ had made 12 unsuccessful
attempts to regain a license since going off air in 2002. In September
2008 the National Assembly amended the law on television and radio
to suspend all licensing until a digital switchover scheduled for
2010. The amendments are seen as further efforts to deny A1+ a license.

The Yerevan Press Club reported several apparently arbitrary arrests
of journalists, and the beating of two journalists, Lusine Barseghyan,
an Armenian Times reporter, and Hrach Melkumyan, Radio Liberty acting
director, by unknown assailants in separate incidents in August. The
journalists believe they were targeted for their professional
activities.

On July 18, a presidentially-appointed commission rejected an
early release request by Arman Babajanyan, editor of the independent
newspaper Zhamanak Yerevan, who had been convicted in 2006 of forging
documents in order to evade compulsory military service. Babajanyan
had served two years of a three-and-a-half-year sentence and was
eligible for early release on parole for good conduct.

Freedom of Assembly

Just before the government lifted the state of emergency, on March 17,
2008, the National Assembly passed restrictive amendments to the law
on meetings, which were criticized by the Council of Europe and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Subsequent
further amendments in April eased some of the restrictions. The
government denied numerous opposition requests to hold public rallies
in late March, and at least 90 people participating in peaceful
"public walks" organized by opposition supporters in Yerevan were
briefly detained.

Torture and Ill-Treatment

According to local human rights defenders, torture and ill-treatment
in custody remain widespread. Several people detained in connection
with the March 1 events alleged physical abuse during apprehension,
transfer to police stations, and in custody. At this writing, the
authorities have not investigated these claims.

In June a Yerevan court ordered additional investigation into the May
2007 death of Levon Gulyan, who was found dead after police arrested
and interrogated him. The authorities allege that Gulyan jumped from
a second-storey window of a police station while trying to escape,
a claim denied by Gulyan’s relatives who believe he was tortured.

Attacks on Human Rights Defenders and Political Activists

In November 2007 a group of unknown assailants beat Narek Galstyan,
leader of the youth wing of the opposition Social-Democratic Hnchakyan
Party. Two days earlier, police had briefly detained Galstyan and
another activist for posting leaflets critical of Serj Sargsyan.

In May 2008 the chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Association, Mikael
Danielyan, was wounded when an assailant shot him from a pneumatic
gun, following an argument while both men were stopped at a traffic
light. It was reported that the assailant was a former leader of the
Armenian Progressive Party. Criminal investigation into the attack
is ongoing.

Also in May, Arsen Kharatyan, a leading member of the pro-opposition
democratic youth movements Sksela and Hima, was beaten in
Yerevan by several unknown assailants, and sustained serious head
injuries. Another Hima member, Narek Hovakimyan, was attacked and
beaten in June.

Key International Actors

International election observers from the OSCE, Council of Europe,
and the European Parliament declared that the February elections were
"mostly in line" with international standards, but noted concerns
about the election process. International and domestic observers also
criticized uneven media coverage of candidates prior to the elections.

Citing concerns about the Armenian authorities’ reaction to the
March 1 events, the United States froze further payments to Armenia
from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a five-year US$235.65
million program for reducing rural poverty. In several statements,
the European Union expressed concern about the authorities’ use of
force and arrests of demonstrators.

Following a visit to Armenia in early March, the OSCE’s special envoy
for the South Caucasus called on the Armenian authorities to lift the
state of emergency and expressed "regret" that "maximum restraint"
had not been used during the crisis.

During its urgent debate on Armenia in April, the PACE threatened
to suspend Armenia’s voting rights unless it took a series of
urgent measures, including revoking the amendments to the law on
meetings, conducting an independent inquiry into the March 1 events,
and releasing those detained on seemingly politically motivated
charges who had not committed any violent or serious offense. At
its June session, the PACE welcomed progress in some of these areas,
but regretted that Armenia had not complied with all requirements.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg
conducted three visits to Armenia in 2008. In addition to gathering
information about the March 1 events, Hammarberg provided support
for establishing an independent inquiry.