Till late night yesterday my representatives and I have observed the assemblies held in Gyumri and Yerevan, as well as the situation in the police units by means of visits, rapid response and etc. Today I have instituted relevant proceedings that will be followed by the examination of the actions of all the responsible bodies and provision of legal assessments. Meanwhile, I present my preliminary assessments, observations and recommendations:
1. Again, I restate my public statement delivered in the morning of 15 January, according to which, the case of the murders in Gyumri must be examined by the law enforcement bodies and judicial system of the Republic of Armenia, in compliance with the international law, the Armenian-Russian Interstate Treaty, the Constitution and the legislation of Armenia. I reiterate the statement delivered by me earlier, that theaccused of this grave crime must be transferred to the Armenian party by the written demand of the Armenia’s Prosecutor General. Moreover, the correct legal term and regulation is not “extradition”, but “handover”.
2. The Police must adequately present and thoroughly substantiate to the public its actions executedyesterday. Our inquiries will be made to the Police covering all the episodes and we will publish the results and our final assessments. Before that, we express our deep concern over the groundless apprehension of any law-abiding citizen. Removing persons (from the place of the assembly) not involved in the acts of hindering the peaceful process of the assembly, or apprehending them can not be considered lawful.
3. With regard to the act of attacking the Police and other participants of the assembly with stones by some participants of the assembly, these actions obviously cannot fit into the scope of the protection of peaceful assembly in any way. The mentioned persons were subject to removal from the place the assemblywas being held, as it is the duty of the Police not only to maintain the public safety and order, but also tosupport the assembly and to protect the rights of its participants.
4. Understanding and sharing the pain, frustration and in many cases the legitimate discontent of our citizens, I remind at the same time that any illegal action can, according to the Law, meet the proportionate response of the state bodies.
5. We were informed with a special concern, that Avetik Ishkhanyan, rights defender, was taken to the Police unit of Kentron among other civic activists. Ishkհanyan was taken to the Police on the suspicion of being under an investigation, which at the first sight seems doubtful. We expect that the Police provides credible grounds and takes relevant steps regarding the developments. We have previously noted and now reiterate that any kind of encroachment upon human rights activists is not permissible.
6. Yesterday during the assemblies held in Yerevan and Gyumri, dozens of participants, including Argishti Kiviryan, Lusine Sahakyan, Tigran Xzmalyan, Karen Harutyunyan, Karo Yegnukyan, Dvin Isanyans, Pavel Manukyan, Gevorg Safaryan, Alek Yenigomshyan, Karapet Rubinyan, were taken to Police Units. At night, till 03:40 PM, one of my Deputies, the Head of the Staff, as well as the employees of the Rapid Response Department visited the Police Units of Gyumri and of Kentron, Nor Nork, Kanaker-Zeytun, Arabkir, Malatia-Sebastia of Yerevan and met with the apprehended citizens. The visits and entrance of my representatives to Police Units have been mainly unrestricted, except for the Police Unit of Gyumri, where the meeting between the represenatatives of Human Rights Defender of Armenia and the apprehended persons was hindered. Such obstacles are unacceptable and do not contribute to the creation of public trust towards the Police actions.
Once more, I urge the Police to assist the peaceful protestors as much as possible, as well as to ensure the safety of participants of the assembly, including protecting them from illegal actions by all agent provocateurs. The Police should refrain from anyhow hindering the lawful realization of human rights. The assembly is considered peaceful unless there is compelling and demonstrable evidence that those organising or participating in that particular event themselves intend to use, advocate or incite imminent violence. Moreover, the burden of proving the violent intentions of the organisers of a demonstration lies with the authorities.
I express my support to all those who sustained injuries during the clashes between citizens and the Police yesterday, and wish all of them a speedy recovery.
Karen Andreasyan
Human Rights Defender of Armenia
16 January, 2015
