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COMMISSIONER HAMMARBERG UPDATES PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE ON SITUATION IN ARMENIA
armradio.am
15.09.2008 16:26
The Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, Thomas
Hammarberg, briefed the PACE monitoring committee, at its meeting in
Paris on 11 September 2008, on developments concerning the inquiry into
the events of 1 March 2008 and the people deprived of their liberty in
connection with those events. He welcomed progress on the first issue,
but remains concerned about the question of detainees - virtually
all of them opposition supporters or prominent opposition figures -
and the criminal justice process in relation to the 1 March events.
The Commissioner's proposal to set up a group of independent experts,
to establish the facts of 1 March, met with a positive response
by the relevant actors in Armenia. Consultations on this issue are
ongoing. The Commissioner believes that establishing the facts would be
one contribution to healing the severe trauma experienced by Armenian
people as a consequence of the 1 March events. It is therefore very
important that the report of the expert group be made public.
Seven people remain in preliminary detention, trials concerning
14 detainees are in progress, and 39 people have been sentenced to
prison terms. Some 41 people have been sentenced to non-custodial
measures, i.e. probation or fines, mostly in the context of fast trial
proceedings. Prosecution cases against 19 people were based solely
on police testimony. The Commissioner observed that the letter by the
Head of the Special Investigation Service issued in early March 2008
to some regional prosecutors, requesting them to collect information
on participants in opposition rallies, rather than information on
specific acts, raises questions about the intent and nature of the
investigation. According to the Armenian authorities, all preliminary
investigations have been completed.
The Monitoring Committee took note of the information provided by the
Commissioner. The issues will be on the agenda of the next meeting
of the PACE Monitoring Committee in Strasbourg, during the week of
the PACE session (29 September to 3 October 2008).
armradio.am
15.09.2008 16:26
The Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, Thomas
Hammarberg, briefed the PACE monitoring committee, at its meeting in
Paris on 11 September 2008, on developments concerning the inquiry into
the events of 1 March 2008 and the people deprived of their liberty in
connection with those events. He welcomed progress on the first issue,
but remains concerned about the question of detainees - virtually
all of them opposition supporters or prominent opposition figures -
and the criminal justice process in relation to the 1 March events.
The Commissioner's proposal to set up a group of independent experts,
to establish the facts of 1 March, met with a positive response
by the relevant actors in Armenia. Consultations on this issue are
ongoing. The Commissioner believes that establishing the facts would be
one contribution to healing the severe trauma experienced by Armenian
people as a consequence of the 1 March events. It is therefore very
important that the report of the expert group be made public.
Seven people remain in preliminary detention, trials concerning
14 detainees are in progress, and 39 people have been sentenced to
prison terms. Some 41 people have been sentenced to non-custodial
measures, i.e. probation or fines, mostly in the context of fast trial
proceedings. Prosecution cases against 19 people were based solely
on police testimony. The Commissioner observed that the letter by the
Head of the Special Investigation Service issued in early March 2008
to some regional prosecutors, requesting them to collect information
on participants in opposition rallies, rather than information on
specific acts, raises questions about the intent and nature of the
investigation. According to the Armenian authorities, all preliminary
investigations have been completed.
The Monitoring Committee took note of the information provided by the
Commissioner. The issues will be on the agenda of the next meeting
of the PACE Monitoring Committee in Strasbourg, during the week of
the PACE session (29 September to 3 October 2008).