ARMENIA ACCUSED OF ‘POLICE ABUSES’

Aljazeera.net
t/news/europe/2009/02/2009225133622142762.html
Feb 25 2009
Qatar

Two police officers and eight civilians were killed in the clashes
[AFP]

A human rights group has called on Armenia to investigate the use
of "excessive force" by police during clashes with anti-government
protesters a year ago that left 10 people dead.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had also documented cases of
police abuse of those detained during the clashes, including beatings,
threats and refusals to provide legal representation.

The group urged Armenian authorities to prosecute both individual
police officers and those who allegedly ordered the use of excessive
force.

In a statement, the group said: "While the Armenian authorities have
investigated, prosecuted and convicted dozens of opposition members,
sometimes in flawed and politically motivated trials … they have
not prosecuted a single representative of the law enforcement agencies
for excessive use of force."

Gunshot wounds

Thousands of supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosian, Armenia’s former
president, rallied for 11 days to denounce the victory of Serzh
Sarkisian in last February’s presidential election, before street
battles broke out with riot police.

Ter-Petrosian finished second in the vote and authorities accused
the opposition of trying to overthrow the government.

Two police officers and eight civilians were killed in the clashes
and dozens more were injured, many from gunshot wounds.

Western election monitors said the vote was broadly in line with the
country’s international commitments, but that further improvements
were necessary.

More than 50 people received jail sentences over the unrest.

A number have since been pardoned by Sarkisian, going some way to
placating European human rights bodies.

Impartial investigation

Human Rights Watch said Armenia’s public prosecutor should step
up efforts to conduct an independent, impartial investigation into
the events.

It urged the country to address shortcomings in the electoral process
and pervasive public distrust that have left Armenia "stuck in a
cycle of uneven contests, fraud, and disputes that more often than
not spill onto the streets".

"To the extent that it exists, real political competition is volatile
with a permanent risk of violence," the report said.

Armenia has seen repeated political violence and post-election protests
since gaining independence with the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.