Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2007
THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH JUSTICE AND SPEECH FREEDOM IN ARMENIA,
COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SAYS
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s justice system has
problems, judges are not independent, in many cases investigation
bodies take evidence obtained under duress as a basis for accusation.
The CE Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg, who visited
Armenia for examining the human rights situation in the country and
submitting a report to the Council of Europe, expressed this
preliminary opinion at the October 11 press conference.
He said that from the viewpoint of speech freedom, there are two
problems in Armenia: first, it is necessary to remove articles on
insulting and defamation from the RA Criminal Code. The second
problem is that the mass media outlets (especially state media) do
not present opinions of all sides to the necessary extent.
T. Hammarberg visited penitentiary institutions but refrained from
speaking about his meetings with prisoners. He noted that he met with
persons deprived of elementary living conditions: those who suffered
as a result of the 1988 earthquake and refugees who came from
Azerbaijan to Armenia 15 years ago. The problem of residents of
Yerevan’s Kentron urban development zone will also be included in his
report.
In response to the question about adoption of the resolution on the
Armenian Genocide by US congressmen, the CE Commissioner for Human
Rights said that it is important that the history not be forgotten,
and the future generation know what happened in the past – this is a
direction of developing the country and improving relations between
nations.
Author: Mashurian Sona
Editor: Khachatrian Haroutiun
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
