11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Witnesses continued to report that police beat citizens during arrest and during interrogation while in detention ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22944]

"While the law prohibits such practices, they were employed by some members of the government's security forces. Witnesses continued to report that police beat citizens during arrest and during interrogation while in detention. Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported similar allegations; however, most cases of police mistreatment went unreported because of fear of retribution. Human rights groups reported that more than half of the individuals transferred to prisons from police detention facilities alleged that they were tortured, abused, or intimidated while in police custody. Drawing on data collected in 2006, the Partnership for Open Society Initiative, composed of human rights NGOs, reported in June that the main purpose of torture in the country was to extort confessions. Courts generally accepted defendants' confessions as valid evidence, even when it was questionably obtained. The report also noted that approximately 80 percent of criminal trial defendants recanted testimony given during pretrial investigation, claiming they had confessed under torture or duress. The criminal justice system generally disregarded such claims and conducted little or no investigation."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Death in custody of Levon Gulyan ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22945]

"On May 12, authorities reported the death in custody of Levon Gulyan, a witness to a gunfight that occurred May 9 near Gulyan's restaurant. Police initially reported that Gulyan fell to his death while trying to escape out of a second story window of the police station. Gulyan's family, their lawyers, and human rights activists claimed that police at the scene threw Gulyan out the window or off the roof. Gulyan's family noted that there were marks of violence on his body when he had returned home from previous interrogation sessions. Two other witnesses in the case, Marine Grigorian and Hayk Melkumian, also reported violence during their questioning. An independent autopsy requested by Gulyan's family found that he died from a fall but did not reveal his condition prior to the fall; some observers questioned the results of the independent autopsy, noting that the state autopsy resulted in the removal of some of Gulyan's vital organs. Prosecutors began a criminal investigation into the circumstances of Gulyan's death under a provision of the Criminal Code that criminalizes "actions inducing a person to suicide," thereby ostensibly limiting the potential crimes that could be investigated. On May 16, the police also launched a separate internal investigation into the case, and reportedly subjected two police officers to disciplinary actions."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Police violence and intimidation during the investigation of the killing of Lori chief prosecutor Albert Ghazaryan ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22946]

"Following the August 25 killing of Lori chief prosecutor Albert Ghazaryan, human rights activists and the media reported numerous instances of police violence and intimidation during the investigation of the killing. On September 7, police arrested Arman Darpinian, the owner of the Bellissimo Club and allegedly a suspect in the killing, on charges of illegal arms possession. Prosecutorial investigators reportedly then beat and threatened five club employees, forcing several to sign statements without showing them the content. Club manager Karen Dodoyan was held in custody for three days and required hospitalization for a concussion upon release, according to his family. Another club manager, Ashot Ghukasyan, was also beaten and detained for two days. Other employees were verbally abused and threatened. On September 13, the prosecutor general ordered an inquiry into these reports of brutality; however, by year's end the status of this inquiry was unclear. Darpinian was released from custody on October 24."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Persons deprived of their liberty by the police run a significant risk of being mistreated ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22947]

"On November 13, the officers of the police department on fighting organized crime reportedly severely beat Artavazd A., breaking his ribs and causing other injuries. The government human rights defender, who reported the case, visited Artavazd A. on November 29 when he was being transferred to the hospital with a "brain stroke" diagnosis. The human rights defender appealed to the national police chief to start an investigation into the circumstances of the abuse. By year's end the status of the case was unclear. On November 20, the office of the human rights defender reported its visit to Nubarashen Prison the day before to meet with a detainee who alleged that, from October 5 to October 7, the criminal investigation officers of Mashtots community police in Yerevan had severely beat him before he was transferred to prison. According to the detainee, the beating continued even after he had confessed the theft he had committed, since the police officers wanted him to confess to other undisclosed crimes. The staff of the human rights defender's office saw the injuries, which were also recorded in the journal of the Nubarashen Prison. The human rights defender appealed to the police chief to conduct an internal investigation in order to reveal and punish the perpetrators. By year's end the status of the case was unclear. On December 13, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its visit to the country in April 2006. The CPT maintained its assessment that persons deprived of their liberty by the police in Armenia run a significant risk of being mistreated. In the course of the 2006 visit, the CPT delegation received numerous and consistent allegations of physical mistreatment of persons detained by the police. Almost all of these allegations were made by remanded prisoners (including women and juveniles) who had recently been in police custody. The alleged mistreatment consisted mainly of slaps, punches, kicks and striking with truncheons, wooden sticks or chair legs. Some allegations of abuse also involved beating on the soles of the feet and asphyxiation using a plastic bag. The alleged abuse was reported almost exclusively as occurring during the period of initial interviews by police officers, with the aim of the abuse reportedly being to obtain confessions, statements or other information. Additionally, several persons interviewed by the delegation (including women and juveniles) gave accounts of unacceptable psychological pressure put on them in order to make them confess to a crime, in the form of insults, humiliation and threats to use physical force or sexual violence against them or their relatives or friends."

Document(s): Open document

13.09.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Alleged victims of mistreatment by authorities and their relatives protested outside parliament; most of them were employees of Vanadzor's mayor's nephew Darpinian ("Armenian Torture Scandal Deepens") [ID 21548]

Document(s): Open document

11.09.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Torture accusations against authorities in connection with investigations of murder of prosecutor Ghazarian and the arrest of the nephew of the mayor of town of Vanadzor Arman Darpinian ("Prosecutor Murder Probe Marred By Torture Claims") [ID 21549]

Document(s): Open document

04.07.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Lawyer representing the family of a man who died in police custody said results of official forensic tests disprove police claims that he was not subjected to torture ("Lawyer Rejects Official Version Of Police Custody Death") [ID 20579]

Document(s): Open document

26.06.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Human Rights Group condemns death of a young man who died in police custody; he was allegedly brutally tortured by police interrogators ("Armenian Rights Group Condemns "Deadly Police Torture"") [ID 20585]

Document(s): Open document

07.06.2007 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Witnesses of shooting of underworld figure tortured in custody; 1 man killed (" Anger at Death in Police Custody") [ID 20584]

Document(s): Open document

22.05.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Police insist that young man who died in police custody was not tortured by his interrogators ("Armenian Police Again Deny Deadly Torture") [ID 20583]

Document(s): Open document

18.05.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

International human rights organisation joins Armenian counterparts in demanding “thorough and independent” inquiry into last week’s death in police custody of young man widely regarded as country's latest victim of police brutality ("Watchdog Concerned About Death In Police Custody") [ID 20582]

Document(s): Open document

17.05.2007 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Mr. Gulyan was reportedly arrested as a witness after having witnessed a shooting in the vicinity of his restaurant on 9 May 2007; he died on 12 May in custody, according to an official announcement after trying to escape by jumping out of a window; his family suspects torture ("Open Letter to the Armenian Head of Police on the Death of Levon Gulyan in Police Custody") [ID 20581]

Document(s): Open document

14.05.2007 - Source: Armenialiberty

Relatives of a young man who died in police custody appealed to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian to thwart what they see as attempts by police to cover up torture case ("Armenian Police Accused Of Deadly Torture") [ID 20580]

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Continuing reports of numerous cases of police beating citizens during arrest and during interrogation ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20104]

"Witnesses continued to report numerous cases of police beating citizens during arrest and during interrogation while in detention. Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported similar allegations; however, most cases of police mistreatment went unreported because of fear of retribution."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Numerous allegations from detainees of mistreatment by officials ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20105]

"On November 16, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published a report on its 2004 visit to the country. The CPT's investigators received numerous allegations from detainees of mistreatment by officials. One individual asserted he had received kicks and blows with fists and truncheons on various parts of his body; he appeared to bear bruises and other medical indications consistent with this account. The inmate said the ill treatment stopped when he agreed to sign a confession. Although the testimony was taken in 2004, other portions of the report criticized the authorities for not putting safeguards into place that might reduce the likelihood of such treatment."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Soldier claims to have been physically mistreated by military investigators and military police officer ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20109]

"In August Razmik Sargsian, a soldier who had been serving a 15-year sentence for the 2003 murder of two fellow soldiers, staged several hunger strikes to protest his innocence. Sargsian said interrogators, including military investigators and military police officer Aram Baghdasaryan, physically mistreated him for five days to obtain his confession for the killings. He claimed interrogators suspended him by his hands and beat him and threatened him with rape. Sargisian's confession implicated two other soldiers, and the court of first instance sentenced all three to 15‑year terms in May 2005. Following an unsuccessful appeal, the Court of Appeals extended their sentences to life in prison on May 30. When the defendants' lawyers, Zaruhi Postanjian, Ashot Atoyan, and Stepan Voskanian, asserted that the proceedings were fraudulent and designed to cover up involvement of higher ranking personnel, state prosecutors initiated contempt proceedings against the lawyers at the request of the three appeals court judges who heard their cases (see section 1.e). On December 22, in a significant assertion of judicial independence, the Court of Cassation, the country's highest court, nullified the convictions of the soldiers and ordered them released. The Court based its ruling on a provision of the Criminal Procedural Code that allows a judge to send a case back to the prosecutor's office for reinvestigation if the original investigation was not conducted lawfully. Charges against the soldiers remained in place at year's end."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Detainees must obtain permission from police or the prosecutor's office in order to obtain a forensic medical examination needed to substantiate a report of physical abuse ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20110]

"By law detainees may file complaints prior to trial to address alleged abuses committed by authorities during criminal investigations; however, detainees must obtain permission from police or the prosecutor's office in order to obtain a forensic medical examination needed to substantiate a report of physical abuse. Human rights NGOs reported that authorities rarely granted such permission (see section 1.e.). There were no prosecutions or convictions of police for torture or other mistreatment during the year. Police conducted 18 internal investigations of complaints of brutality by their officers, but information on the outcome of these investigations was not available at year's end."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Reports that prosecutors used confessions obtained through methods that some NGOs asserted amounted to torture ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20200]

"There were reports that prosecutors used confessions obtained through methods that some NGOs asserted amounted to torture, as central elements of their cases. Defense lawyers may present evidence of torture to overturn improperly obtained confessions; however, defendants stated that judges and prosecutors refused to admit such evidence into court proceedings, even when the perpetrator could be identified."

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Although prohibited by law, ill-treatment of detainees remains widespread as most common human rights violation ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 17912]

"The constitution makes it clear that "no one may be subjected to torture and to treatment and punishment that are cruel or degrading to the individual's dignity." However, ill-treatment of detainees, the most common form of human rights violation in Armenia according to domestic and international watchdogs, remains widespread, with law enforcement officers routinely beating criminal suspects to extract confessions. The situation does not seem to have improved since the Armenian parliament's ratification in 2002 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and the European Convention on Human Rights. The move led to the first-ever inspection of Armenia's prisons and detention sites by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). In a report made public in July 2004, the Council of Europe concluded that individuals arrested or interrogated by Armenian law enforcement bodies run a "significant risk" of torture, humiliation, and psychological pressure. The report said members of a CPT delegation who met with Armenian detainees heard "numerous and consistent allegations of physical ill-treatment. ... The ill-treatment alleged consisted essentially of punches and kicks, and of striking the persons concerned with truncheons and/or other hard objects, such as chair legs, thick metal cables or gun butts.""

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Police and other security forces seem to operate in atmosphere of impunity; no officer known to have been prosecuted for torture or ill-treatment from 2003 to 2004 ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 17913]

"Human Rights Watch likewise noted in its 2005 World Report that "Torture and ill-treatment in police custody remain widespread in Armenia." The illegal practice has continued unabated due to the atmosphere of impunity in which the Armenian police and other security agencies operate. No officer is known to have been prosecuted for such abuses in 2003-04. Furthermore, the Armenian government challenged the CPT's conclusion, saying that "the facts indicated in the report were not concrete.""

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Documented case of police violence against detainee; authorities refused to investigate ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 17914]

"In April 2004, an opposition activist in the southern town of Artashat, Grisha Virabian, had to undergo urgent surgery after enduring a reportedly brutal interrogation at a local police station. The authorities refused to investigate his harrowing account of torture. Furthermore, Virabian himself was nearly prosecuted for resisting one of his police interrogators."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Police reportedly beat opposition supporters in November 2005 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46111],  [ID 15698]

"In November police reportedly beat opposition supporters detained briefly following the marred constitutional referendum [...]."

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Torture and ill-treatment in police custody remains widespread; opposition supporters tortured by police in May 2005 ("World Report 2006") [#42310],  [ID 17655]

"Torture and ill-treatment in police custody remain widespread in Armenia. Torture usually occurs in pre- trial detention with the aim of coercing a confession or evidence against third parties. Abuse and mistreatment within the army is also widespread, with dozens of suspicious deaths occuring every year. In May 2005, police allegedly beat supporters of an independent candidate, Artur Shaboyan, in local elections in the town of Hrazdan. According to media reports, police used batons and electric-shock equipment to attack Shaboyan supporters outside several polling stations."

Document(s): Open document

25.05.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture concludes that people detained by police run significant risk of being ill-treated ("Annual Report 2005") [#32286],  [ID 3002]

"In July the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published its first report on Armenia. The report concerned the CPT’s visit to Armenia in 2002. It concluded that people detained by police ran a significant risk of being ill-treated, and recommended professional training for police officers as a priority. The report also raised concerns about overcrowding in prisons, conditions of detention for people sentenced to life imprisonment, and shortcomings at a psychiatric hospital."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

25.05.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Police ill-treatment and excessive use of force ("Annual Report 2005") [#32286],  [ID 3003]

"Scores of people were injured and detained when special police units used water cannons and stun grenades to break up a peaceful opposition demonstration in the capital, Yerevan, on 13 April. Four journalists covering the demonstration were reportedly severely beaten by police. Dozens more opposition activists and supporters, including women, were reportedly ill-treated during armed police raids on the head offices of the main opposition parties that same night. According to reports most of these activists were detained in police cells for up to 48 hours. According to human rights groups and opposition parties, those detained at the demonstration and at party offices continued to be beaten and ill-treated at police stations."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

06.04.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Use of torture and ill-treatment by police escalated dramatically during nationwide mass demonstrations in April ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events 2004)") [#30950],  [ID 3004]

"The use of torture and ill-treatment by police escalated dramatically during the nationwide mass demonstrations in April, particularly during the night between 12 and 13 April. Law enforcement officers used water cannons, explosives, electric shock, truncheons, and other means to disperse demonstrators on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan. Hundreds of people were injured, many of them seriously, but it was impossible to verify their total number as most victims did not go to hospital and were afraid to report the incidents, fearing prosecution. A number of victims reported that health care facilities were watched over by law enforcement authorities who in some cases ordered health professionals to act against their professional ethics, e.g., not to register medical problems."

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Reports of torture by police during arrest, interrogation and during detention ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29491],  [ID 3005]

"The Constitution prohibits such practices; however, government security forces employed them. Witnesses reported numerous cases of police beating citizens during arrest and interrogation while in detention. Most cases of police brutality went unreported because of fear of police retribution. Police used excessive force to disperse protestors after an 8-hour political rally on April 12 and 13; some journalists were among those beaten (see Sections 2.a. and 2.b.). Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also reported claims by detainees that police beat them during pretrial detention."

Document(s): Open document

28.07.2004 - Source: Council of Europe - European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Report focused on conditions in detention (torture and ill treatment) and safeguards (access to lawyer, doctor), health care services ("Report to the Armenian Government on the visit to Armenia carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 6 to 17 October 2002 [CPT/Inf(2004) 25]") [#24312],  [ID 3006]

"The CPT's delegation received numerous and consistent allegations of physical ill-treatment of persons detained by the police in Armenia. Almost all of these allegations were made during individual interviews with remand prisoners at the two pre-trial establishments visited4. The ill-treatment alleged consisted essentially of punches and kicks, and of striking the persons concerned with truncheons and/or other hard objects, such as chair legs, thick metal cables or gun butts. In virtually all cases, it was said to have been inflicted in the context of police interrogation (mostly by operative police officers) and with a view to extracting confessions or information. In some cases, the ill-treatment alleged - very severe beating by several police officers, including on the soles of the feet, or the squeezing of fingers with pliers - could be considered as amounting to torture."

Document(s): Report
Report Government interim response [CPT/Inf(2004) 26] Government interim response [CPT/Inf(2004) 26] Government follow-up response [CPT/Inf(2004) 27] Government follow-up response [CPT/Inf(2004) 27]

04.05.2004 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Several cases of torture and ill-treatment in police custody during the government crackdown against the opposition in April 2004 ("Cycle of repression: Human rights violations in Armenia") [#21895],  [ID 3007]

"Human Rights Watch documented several cases of torture and ill-treatment in police custody during the government crackdown against the opposition in April 2004. Opposition party officials claim that during this period police regularly beat their supporters in police custody: “There were lots of cases of people being beaten at the police stations after detention, especially those who came from the regions.”75 Armenia is obligated under international law to prevent acts of torture.76

On the night of April 12-13, Oride Harustanian was detained with a group of women, including her nineteen-year-old daughter, at the Republic Party headquarters. Police took them to the Erebuni police station in Yerevan where the police shouted and swore at them. They were placed in a room. Harustanian told Human Rights Watch, “Then the head of the Erebuni police came in. He came up to me and said ‘So you want to take power,’ and slapped me three times very hard on the face.”77 He then went to each person in turn and assaulted them, kicking and kneeing them, and punching one woman in the head. Several of the group had serious bruising to the legs after the attack. Police did not provide food to the group on the day of April 13. Members of the group were held for up to thirty-six hours, and were then released, some receiving administrative fines, others receiving no explanation as to the reason for having been detained.78

Police also detained a young woman on the night of April 12-13.79 She was taken to a local police station in Yerevan with a group of opposition party activists. Police separated her from the group and put her in a room in the police station. There were four or five uniformed police in the room. She told Human Rights Watch:

Then someone came in, a high level police officer. All the other police stood up for him when he came in. I also stood up and he began to beat me, kicking my body, hitting my face and swearing terribly. I was so scared that I wet myself. He beat me for about ten or fifteen minutes… I cried the whole time. I couldn’t speak… Then I heard loud voices in the corridor, shouting and swearing… It was the head of the [police station]. He came in and said ‘Ah, it was you who was at the protest.’ I said ‘no, it wasn’t me.’ He began to beat me with his fists and knees to my stomach. I fell and he kicked me on my back. He said, ‘now all our men will come in and rape you.’ He said worse things… He went on four about twenty minutes. I don’t remember everything. I remember coming to lying on the table. Then he left. I was on the floor.80

She was released from custody after eighteen hours in detention. She received no explanation for her arrest. According to the young woman and a relative who cared for her after her release, she had bruising all over her body, and was suffering from severe stomach pains."

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Ill-treatment by police continued to be widespread ("Annual Report 2003") [#12997],  [ID 3008]

"Berichte deuteten auf nach wie vor weit verbreitete Misshandlungen durch Beamte mit Polizeibefugnissen hin. Wehrpflichtige waren nach wie vor brutalen Praktiken unter unmittelbarer Beteiligung ihrer Vorgesetzten oder mit deren Billigung unterworfen. Es wurden Vorwürfe laut, denen zufolge mehrere Ermittlungen zur Aufklärung von Folterungen oder Misshandlungen nicht mit der gebotenen Sorgfalt durchgeführt worden sind."

Document(s): Open document
Open document Open document

08.05.2003 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Torture and other forms of inhuman treatment were a widespread problem ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Armenia") [#12599],  [ID 3009]

"Armenia is party to both the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and – since 2002 - the European Convention for the Prevention
of Torture and its Protocols 1 and 2. Just like these conventions, the Armenian Constitution,
Correctional Labor Code (CLC) and the law “On the Police” prohibited torture and inhuman or
degrading treatment. Yet, torture and other forms of inhuman treatment were a widespread problem.
Article 121 of the new Criminal Code defines torture and establishes accountability for it, but
article 110 of the Code still in force in 2002 did not define torture although it provided for a
punishment for its use. Under article 105 of the new Criminal Procedure Code the court must dismiss
all evidence obtained under illegal means, however, judges typically ignored the defendants’ claims
that they had been tortured or ill-treated to confess.
In practice, police frequently abused the fact that witnesses invited to a police station did not
enjoy the right to legal counsel.11 They would invite suspects as witnesses to a police station, arrest
them for a minor administrative offense (e.g. resisting police), take them before a judge (usually at
night) and get a warrant to hold them for 5-15 days in administrative detention. During this time the
officers resorted to illegal means to coerce a confession of a crime the police actually suspected them
of. [...] In compliance with the law, a control board of the Prosecutor’s Office formally oversaw the
legality of preliminary investigations. However, it did not fulfill its task – quite the contrary, it
sometimes did everything in its power to conceal the fact that violations had taken place.
Legal proceedings about alleged torture of detainees at police stations were initiated only in case
of the death of a detainee. Since 1991, only two cases have been brought to court, the rest12 have been
interpreted as suicides and the have been closed. The sole attempt to indict a police officer of murder
was the case of Galust Dilanyan; as of the end of 2002, it had been pending for five years.13 Another
trial against 15 recruits and officers for killing a draftee, Artjem Sarksjan in February were pending as
of the end of 2002."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

Security personnel routinely beat pretrial detainees during arrest and interrogation/forced confessions ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11840],  [ID 3010]

"There were no deaths in custody during the year; however, there were a number of deaths due to natural causes in prison (see Section 1.c.). [...] The Constitution and laws prohibit torture; however, security personnel routinely beat pretrial detainees during arrest and interrogation, and prosecutors relied on such confessions to secure convictions (see Section 1.e.). [...] During 2000 there were approximately nine cases of death in custody caused by beatings and other abuse; however, there were no reports available on the number of deaths caused by beatings and other abuse at year's end (see Section 1.a.). [...] During 2001 ex-defendants and attorneys for the defendants of the October 1999 killings in the Parliament claimed in the media that they were being held in inhuman conditions and were beaten during interrogations. A number of those arrested alleged that they were mistreated, including being drugged, beaten, and denied sleep for extended periods of time while in pretrial detention."

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

The police, the Ministry of Interior, or the prosecutor's office have the right to detain suspects without official charges up to 96 hours ("Analysen und Hintergründe ") [#10328],  [ID 3011]

"Die bestehenden Gesetze und Bestimmungen lassen es zu, dass Bürger bis zu 96 Stunden
ohne Grund von der Polizei sowie Einheiten des Innenministeriums oder auf Anordnung der
Staatsanwaltschaft festgehalten werden können. Während dieser Haftzeit bzw. bei Verhören
werden sie in der Regel geprügelt, gefoltert und eingeschüchtert, ohne dass sich die Schuldigen
bisher dafür nennenswert verantworten mussten, bei denen es sich in der Regel um
Beamte in niedrigem oder mittlerem Rang handelt. Selbst prominente Untersuchungshäftlinge
wie der Abgeordnete Muscher Mowsisjan oder der Präsidentenberater Alexan Harutjunjan
klagten über Folter und Misshandlung. Im Fall von Herrn Mowsisjan kam die von Präsident
Kotscharjan gebildete Menschenrechtskommission bei einem Besuch zu dem Ergebnis,
dass er keine sichtbaren Spuren von Misshandlung trage, während einer parlamentarische
Kommission im Dezember 1999 das Gegenteil bescheinigte. In früheren Strafverfahren
("Dro", "Prozess der 31") berichteten Angeklagte und ihre Verteidiger, dass ihre Ehefrauen
von Ermittlern mit Vergewaltigung bedroht worden waren."

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Centre

The right not to be subjected to torture, cruel or inhuman punishment used to be violated everywhere ("Analytical Report (period covered: 1 September 2001 to 30 September 2002)") [#9949],  [ID 3012]

"This right used to be violated everywhere. For instance, the criminal proceedings against M.Madoyan, a servicemen, for the murder of A.Adamyan, a soldier, were completed on 13 November 2001 with the conviction of M.Madoyan.
But in order to force a confession the defendant had been beaten so
severely that he had to be sent to hospital with a diagnosis of malaria
which was made by the investigator (no matter how strange it would
have been), but was not confirmed by the doctors when they examined
him.
All the above circumstances were ignored by the judge when he
sentenced M.Madoyan to a ten years’ imprisonment.
There are a lot of similar cases which might be brought as examples."

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Centre

Most of people are so intimidated that they are ready to testify against anybody under psychological or physical pressure ("Analytical Report (period covered: 1 September 2001 to 30 September 2002)") [#9949],  [ID 3013]

"Most of people are so intimidated that they are ready to testify
against anybody under psychological or physical pressure. This factor
is used by different local factions, especially during the electoral
campaigns to local bodies of self-government.
The situation appears to be somewhat different in the capital city of
Yerevan."

Document(s): Open document