DEEP CONCERN OVER ILL-TREATMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER WHILE IN ARBITRARY DETENTION
2 009/06/15 | 17:40
society
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
program of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the
International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), along with the Civil
Society Institute, the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office,
the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, the Collaboration for Democracy
Centre, Transparency International the Anti-Corruption Centre and the
Foundation Against Violation of Law, express their deep concern about
the ill-treatments against human rights defender Arshaluys Hakobyan
while arbitrarily detained since June 5, 2009.
On May 31, 2009, Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan a member of the Armenian
Helsinki Association and press photographer of the official website
of the organisation (), had monitored the elections for
the Mayor of Yerevan together with a group of observers. In their
capacities as observers representing the Helsinki Association,
Mr. Hakobyan and the group visited polling station N° 8/23 in
Malatia-Sebastia district, Yerevan.
The members and head of the electoral commission blocked their way
preventing them from carrying out the monitoring process. The group
was eventually taken outside the polling station and the doors were
locked. The observers were subsequently threatened with corporal
punishment.
Following the aforementioned incidents, Mr. Hakobyan filed a complaint
with the Special Investigation Department. On June 5, 2009, he was
summoned by the Investigation Department to give testimonies.
Nevertheless, he refused going there and stated that he would only
go to the Investigation Department provided they would hand over an
official summons. Later on, two police officers went to Mr. Hakobyan’s
with a "summons", which nevertheless contained no information about
the criminal case or the reason as to why he was being summoned.
Mr. Hakobyan refused to sign the paper alleging it was not
valid. However, after pressuring him, the police officers eventually
forced him to sign. Mr. Hakobyan, who was not wearing his contact
lenses at that time, signed in the wrong place, which made the
police officers angry. In spite of asking the police officers to
leave, the officers asked for police reinforcement, and took him
to the Police Department of Kentron District, in Yerevan, where he
underwent beatings and other ill-treatments and was denied access
to a lawyer. He was handcuffed and then taken to the Investigation
Department of Kentron District. He was subsequently charged with
"violence against a Government representative", under Article 316
part 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code.
Following questioning, he was taken to a pre-detention cell. As of
issuing this press release, Mr. Hakobyan remains detained in the
Nubarashen penitentiary institution.
On June 6, 2009, the Court of First Instance for Kentron and
Nork-Marash districts confirmed Mr. Hakobyan’s arrest as a
preventive punishment. The date of his trial is still not known as
the investigation is ongoing.
Mr. Hakobyan currently is allowed to have contacts with his family
and was granted access to a lawyer. On June 11, 2009, members of the
"prison monitoring group", composed of various representatives of
civil society, visited Mr. Hakobyan in the Nubarashen penitentiary
institution, and reported numerous injuries on different parts of
his body (legs, hands, back and head). Such injuries were reportedly
registered in a medical folder upon his arrival in this penitentiary
institution.
Our organisations express their deep concern about Mr. Arshaluys
Hakobyan’s arbitrary arrest and firmly condemn the above-mentioned acts
of ill-treatment against him, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning
his human rights activities, and call upon the Armenian authorities
to guarantee in all circumstances his physical and psychological
integrity, in conformity with the 1998 United Nations Declaration
on Human Rights Defenders, with the Declaration of the Committee of
Ministers on Council of Europe action to improve the protection of
human rights defenders and promote their activities, and with the
2007 Resolution of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on Strengthening
OSCE Engagement with Human Rights Defenders and National Human Rights
Institutions.
Our organisations further urge the Armenian authorities to
release Mr. Hakobyan immediately and unconditionally, to order a
thorough, immediate, effective and impartial investigation into the
above-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public,
in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a
competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the
sanctions provided by the law and, more generally, to put an end to
all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in Armenia.
Our organisations also call upon the Commissioner for Human Rights
of the CoE to act in accordance with operative paragraph 4 of
the CoE Declaration on Human Rights Defenders with regards to this
situation. We further urge the European Commission Delegation as well
as European Union (EU) Member-States embassies in Armenia to call upon
Armenian authorities to comply with the relevant international norms
and standards and take action on the above-mentioned human rights
violations, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.