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FIDH AND CSI DEMAND FAIR TRIAL AND INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION IN THE STEPAN HOVAKIMYAN AND VAHRAM KEROBYAN CASE
hetq
16:34, February 23, 2012
Paris - Yerevan, 22 February, 2012. Two years have passed since
Stepan Hovakimyan was charged on 6 February 2010 with organizing and
committing theft at the "Moskva" cinema house on 10 January 2010.
On 6 February 2010, Hovakimyan was charged with violations of Article
177(3)(1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and detained
after spending 72 hours in police custody. To this day Hovakimyan
and Kerobyan (also later arrested) remain in detention at Nubarashen
penitentiary institution. Their trials continue to be unduly delayed
and no independent and fair investigation has yet been conducted.
Despite two years to further corroborate the charges in his case, the
principal evidence against Hovakimyan remains a confession statement
obtained by police using duress and psychological violence on 6
February 2010.
Hovakimyan had already attended Yerevan police station on 11 and
14 January 2010, where he remained in custody for over 10 hours and
was allegedly subjected to violent treatment, before being released
without confessing.
On 6 February 2010 Stepan Hovakimyan again attended Yerevan police
department where he was subjected to torture and inhumane and degrading
treatment. In the course of this treatment Hovakimyan was beaten on the
head, undressed, had his shoes removed and the soles of his feet beaten
with a rubber baton until he confessed to theft. He claims to have been
invited to the Yerevan police department on that occasion without a
proper summons and before any complaint had been lodged by the victim
or criminal proceedings instituted. Only after signing the confession
statement was S. Hovakimyan permitted to inform his relatives of his
custody, and given access to a lawyer for the first time.
Having been implicated in conniving in the theft in S. Hovakimyan's
confession statement, V. Kerobyan was arrested on 12 March 2010. He
remains detained and charged with theft to date.
Hovakimyan's complaint concerning torture on 6 February 2010, lodged
with the Special Investigation Service (SIS), proved unsuccessful. SIS
decided not to institute criminal proceedings against those
responsible, relying instead on the police officers' explanations of
events and declining to investigate the torture allegations further.
This decision was appealed in the Court of General Jurisdiction
of the Kentron and Nork-Marash districts, but rejected on 2 August
2011. A subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeals culminated in the
first instance judgment being upheld on 26 December 2011 - a ruling
is currently lodged for appeal before the Court of Cassation. An
admissibility decision on this latest appeal is currently pending.
FIDH and the Civil Society Institute call upon the Armenian authorities
to:
Immediately release S.Hovakimyan and V. Kerobyan on bail; Ensure
both accused receive a fair trial within a reasonable time, including
by confirming the inadmissibility of evidence obtained by coercion;
Conduct an independent, effective and thorough investigation into the
torture allegations to identify the perpetrators and bring them to
justice; Fully conform with the provisions of the European Convention
on Human Rights, as well as the European Convention on the Prevention
of Torture and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These texts impose a
clear obligation on Armenia to investigate and prosecute allegations
of torture and stop the practice of using confessions obtained under
duress to prosecute suspects.
hetq
16:34, February 23, 2012
Paris - Yerevan, 22 February, 2012. Two years have passed since
Stepan Hovakimyan was charged on 6 February 2010 with organizing and
committing theft at the "Moskva" cinema house on 10 January 2010.
On 6 February 2010, Hovakimyan was charged with violations of Article
177(3)(1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and detained
after spending 72 hours in police custody. To this day Hovakimyan
and Kerobyan (also later arrested) remain in detention at Nubarashen
penitentiary institution. Their trials continue to be unduly delayed
and no independent and fair investigation has yet been conducted.
Despite two years to further corroborate the charges in his case, the
principal evidence against Hovakimyan remains a confession statement
obtained by police using duress and psychological violence on 6
February 2010.
Hovakimyan had already attended Yerevan police station on 11 and
14 January 2010, where he remained in custody for over 10 hours and
was allegedly subjected to violent treatment, before being released
without confessing.
On 6 February 2010 Stepan Hovakimyan again attended Yerevan police
department where he was subjected to torture and inhumane and degrading
treatment. In the course of this treatment Hovakimyan was beaten on the
head, undressed, had his shoes removed and the soles of his feet beaten
with a rubber baton until he confessed to theft. He claims to have been
invited to the Yerevan police department on that occasion without a
proper summons and before any complaint had been lodged by the victim
or criminal proceedings instituted. Only after signing the confession
statement was S. Hovakimyan permitted to inform his relatives of his
custody, and given access to a lawyer for the first time.
Having been implicated in conniving in the theft in S. Hovakimyan's
confession statement, V. Kerobyan was arrested on 12 March 2010. He
remains detained and charged with theft to date.
Hovakimyan's complaint concerning torture on 6 February 2010, lodged
with the Special Investigation Service (SIS), proved unsuccessful. SIS
decided not to institute criminal proceedings against those
responsible, relying instead on the police officers' explanations of
events and declining to investigate the torture allegations further.
This decision was appealed in the Court of General Jurisdiction
of the Kentron and Nork-Marash districts, but rejected on 2 August
2011. A subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeals culminated in the
first instance judgment being upheld on 26 December 2011 - a ruling
is currently lodged for appeal before the Court of Cassation. An
admissibility decision on this latest appeal is currently pending.
FIDH and the Civil Society Institute call upon the Armenian authorities
to:
Immediately release S.Hovakimyan and V. Kerobyan on bail; Ensure
both accused receive a fair trial within a reasonable time, including
by confirming the inadmissibility of evidence obtained by coercion;
Conduct an independent, effective and thorough investigation into the
torture allegations to identify the perpetrators and bring them to
justice; Fully conform with the provisions of the European Convention
on Human Rights, as well as the European Convention on the Prevention
of Torture and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These texts impose a
clear obligation on Armenia to investigate and prosecute allegations
of torture and stop the practice of using confessions obtained under
duress to prosecute suspects.