429 complaints sent to RA Ombudsman’s Office given positive solutions
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YEREVAN, MARCH 12, NOYAN TAPAN. 5 800 citizens applied to RA
Ombudsman’s Office in 2008. 429 applications were given positive
solutions, RA Ombudsman Armen Haroutiunian reported on March 10 when
presenting his 2008 report on the situation the in human rights sphere.
Among human rights violations the Ombudsman mentioned violations of the
right of freedom of gatherings: according to him, in more than 90 cases
the opposition was not permitted to hold a mass action. While
experience showed that opposition’s events proceeded peacefully and
calmly, and it is not clear, on the basis of what information the
authorities did not permit their holding.
Among problems of freedom of expression and journalists’ security the
Ombudsman mentioned, in particular, the fact of a policeman’s hitting
Gohar Vezirian, a correspondent of the Chorrord Ishkhanutyun newspaper
and throwing her on the ground, which has received no response by the
authorities so far. He also mentioned the fact of dismissing from her
work at Gladzor University Karine Haroutiunian, a correspondent of the
Zhamanak Yerevan oppposition newspaper. "She proved not to meet the
lecturer’s title after some stage," Armen Haroutiunian noted.
The Ombudsman mentioned two cases of non-differentiated approach of the
law, cases of the GALA TV company and the Bjni mineral waters factory.
He emphasized that Ombudsman’s Office did not examine the issue of
whether the above mentioned companies have problems with the law or not.
The Ombudsman classed as alarming the atmosphere of "very big" fear at
penitentiary institutions, because of which people do not confess the
fact of tortures. He also mentioned one of the cases of violating the
principle of presumption of innocence.
According to A. Haroutiunian, the situation in the sphere of protection
of ownership right is very serious: Ombudsman’s Office has received
more than 100 complaints regarding the problem, which, in particular,
concern the fact of valuing real estate lower than the cadastral value.
The Ombudsman emphasized that no citizen won any trial on protection of
the above mentioned right over 7 years in Armenia, whereas RA citizens
applying to the European Court of Human Rights mostly win the trials.
A. Haroutiunian said that Ombudsman’s Office has received many
complaints regarding the issue of dismissal from work: according to
him, the dismissals are grounded from point of view of the letter of
the law, but their number is rather big.