Armenian political prisoners complain of physical ill-treatment

2010-03-20 13:15:00

ArmInfo. All the political prisoners arrested during March 1 2008 have
stated that they were treated badly during detention even if they
displayed no resistance, says the report of the Council of Europe
Anti-torture Committee.

On March 19, 2010, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CPT) published the report on its ad hoc visit to Armenia in March
2008, together with the response of the Armenian Government. Both
documents have been made public at the request of the Armenian
authorities.

The main purpose of the visit was to examine the treatment of persons
detained in relation to events which followed the Presidential
election of 19 February 2008. In the aftermath of the election, on 1
March 2008, a police operation took place aimed at dispersing
opposition rallies in Yerevan. Dozens of persons were arrested in the
course of and following that operation, hundreds were injured and a
number of persons died.

The delegation carried out individual interviews with most of the
persons remanded in custody on charges related to the post-election
events. Practically all the persons who had been detained on 1 March
2008 alleged that they had been physically ill-treated at the time of
their apprehension, even though they apparently had not offered
resistance. The delegation also received a few allegations of physical
ill-treatment at the time of questioning by the police.

The CPT has recommended that the investigation into the events of 1
March 2008 be conducted in accordance with the criteria of an
effective investigation, and that its results be used to provide
guidance for future police operations in terms of planning, training
and police tactics in crowd-control situations. The visit report also
contains other recommendations aimed at combating ill-treatment by law
enforcement officials, including through strengthening the formal
safeguards against ill-treatment which are offered to persons deprived
of their liberty by the police (i.e. the rights of notification of
custody, access to a lawyer and access to a doctor).