On February 27 over 44 political prisoners of the March events issued a statement where they stress that the right to assembly is provided for in the Armenian Constitution. Instead of intervening, the authorities should rather create favourable conditions for peaceful assemblies, the opposition states.

Every Friday, the wives, sisters and relatives of the political prisoners organize protests in front of the Prosecutor Office to raise awareness of the absence of fair trial. Melissa Brown (left), the wife of the imprisoned former Foreign Minister Arzumanyan together with the other wives is mobilizing people through the organization Vernatun.


Helsinki Association’s Report on Human Rights in Armenia

The report of the Helsinki Association on Human Rights concerns following topics: elections procedures, peaceful assembly, prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, right to a fair trial and effective remedies, freedom on religion and conscientious objection. As the association summarizes, despite the fact that Armenia has adopted and ratified many international documents referring to human rights standards, torture and ill-treatment still remain a major problem.

Police crackdown on peaceful demonstration

A large part of the report is dedicated to the rally of 1 March 2008. The report includes statements of eyewitnesses describing how the police forces attacked the people who stayed in a tent camp on Liberty Square. “We were 3000-4000 persons (in demonstrator’s tent). Then the number of the soldiers increased to 5000. (…) They didn’t say anything at all. We only heard the order and they started. At first they were using the electroshocks, and then they were using the batons. The policemen got the people out of the crowd and beat them with feet,” reports one representative who worked in the rescue party of the Red Cross in the meeting point for demonstrators.

On the same day, President Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency in Yerevan for 20 days which was confirmed by Parliament the next day. The trials of the 1 March 2008 cases still continue. The seven opposition leaders – the former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan, MPs Myasnik Malkhasyan, Sasun Miqaelyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Grigor Voskerchyan, Suren Sirunyan, and Shant Harutyunyan are accused based on the articles 225, 235, 300 and 316 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. 

HRHF, The Human Rights Center, the Caucasian Knot (Caucasian Knot’s blog: http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/blogs/posts/123) and the Helsinki Association observed the trial of the seven leaders on 12 February 2009 in Yerevan and met with Melissa Brown.

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