Tweet
FROM ARMY DEATHS TO JOURNALIST ATTACKS - HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 2013 REPORT ON ARMENIA
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/01/31/hrw-armenia-2013/
18:35 ~U 31.01.13
Human Rights Watch has issued its 2013 report on human rights in the
world. It dedicated one chapter to the human rights issues in Armenia
the organization has registered in 2012.
Armenia's ruling coalition retained a parliamentary majority following
the May 2012 elections amid allegations of abuse of administrative
resources, and intimidation of voters, observers, and journalists,
starts the part dedicated to Armenia.
The government has yet to offer conscientious objectors a genuine
civilian alternative to military service and has failed to effectively
investigate a troubling number of non-combat deaths in the military.
Politically motivated defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be
a problem, but media pluralism is lacking, and some journalists
covering the May 6 parliamentary elections suffered violent attacks
by onlookers, some of them members of Armenia's ruling political party.
Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation are serious
problems. Bureaucratic restrictions prevent people with terminal
illnesses from accessing strong pain medications.
In the part dedicated to the parliamentary elections it is being
stressed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe's (OSCE) monitoring report assessed the May 6 parliamentary
elections as competitive and largely peaceful, yet marred by "an
unequal playing field" due to misuse of administrative resources,
and party representatives and local authorities pressuring voters,
interfering in voting, and hindering the work of journalists.
Several violent incidents occurred during the campaign period in
Yerevan, including assaults on opposition party Armenian National
Congress (ANC) candidate Babken Garoyan and three other ANC members
on April 15, and on ANC candidate Karen Tovmasyan on April 17. In both
cases, the ANC members were distributing campaign information. Police
opened investigations into each case. The report says Helsinki
Association campaign monitor Arman Veziryan filed complaints alleging
that Yerevan resident Tigran Manukyan punched him and hindered his
work as an observer while Veziryan observed an opposition activist
distributing election pamphlets on April 30. Instead of investigating,
prosecutors pressured Veziryan to withdraw the complaint and in June
charged him with beating Manukyan, although Manukyan never claimed
to be a victim.
In Torture and Ill-Treatment in Custody section the report says that
according to local human rights defenders, torture and ill-treatment
in police custody persist. Authorities often refuse to investigate
ill-treatment allegations or coerce citizens into retracting
complaints.
The government has not effectively investigated a complaint from seven
ANC activists that police beat them in detention in August 2011. In
July, the court sentenced four of the activists-Karapetyan, Tigran
Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, and David Kiramijyan-to two to six years'
imprisonment for hooliganism and resisting authority. In November,
the appeals court upheld their sentences. In August, police dropped
charges against the other three for lack of evidence. In October, the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Armenia had violated
the prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment in the case
of opposition party member Grisha Virabyan when police repeatedly hit
him in the testicles with metal objects after detaining him following
demonstrations in 2004. The court denounced the authorities' failure
to effectively investigate.
In the Army Abuses part the report mentions that local human rights
groups reported 44 non-combat army deaths through September.
A January ECtHR ruling found Armenia had violated the right to
religious freedom of two Jehovah's Witnesses by imprisoning them for
refusing to perform mandatory military service in 2003. According
to Forum 18, an international religious freedom nongovernmental
organization, 32 conscientious objectors were in prison as of September
20 for refusing military and alternative service, believing the
alternative service was not independent of the military. In 2012,
courts sentenced to prison terms 16 additional Jehovah's Witnesses
for refusal to serve. The sentences were not enforced.
In 2011, authorities proposed amendments to the alternative service
law. However, the OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) criticized the
amendments for not making alternative service truly independent of the
military and for making it 12-18 months longer than military service.
In its July review of Armenia, the United Nations Human Rights
Committee (HRC) urged the government to ensure a real alternative
to military service, and release those imprisoned for refusing to
perform military service or the existing alternative to it.
As to Freedom of Expression, the report says politically motivated
defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be a serious problem. However,
a June 2012 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
report on media freedom in Europe found Armenian journalists'
capacity to report was "hampered by pressures of self-censorship"
and expressed concern about television stations' use of material from
political advertisements in news coverage.
At least two journalists suffered attacks while covering the May
elections. In Yerevan, a man punched Elina Chilingaryan as she
filmed a bus arriving at a polling station, knocking her camera
to the ground. Police brought charges against the assailant for
interfering with the professional duties of a journalist. In Gyumri,
four unidentified men approached journalist Karen Alekyan at a polling
station, ripped off his press badge, and broke his camera. Alekyan
filed a complaint.
As to Palliative Care, the report says UN statistics from 2009-2010
suggest that approximately 7,000 people die annually in Armenia
from cancer and HIV/AIDS. However, analysis of strong pain medicine
consumption suggests only about 600 patients with moderate to severe
pain gained access in 2012 to adequate pain relief during the last
stages of their illness.
In Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity part the reports says that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience
employment discrimination, obstacles accessing healthcare, and
physical and psychological abuse in the army, in families, and in
public. On May 8, unidentified people threw a homemade bomb at DIY,
a Yerevan bar frequented by LGBT and women's rights activists.
In the Key International Actors' sector the report mentions
EU President Herman Van Rompuy who visited Yerevan in July and
welcomed Armenian authorities' efforts to deliver more competitive
and transparent parliamentary elections, but cautioned that February
2013 presidential elections should be more democratic.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/01/31/hrw-armenia-2013/
18:35 ~U 31.01.13
Human Rights Watch has issued its 2013 report on human rights in the
world. It dedicated one chapter to the human rights issues in Armenia
the organization has registered in 2012.
Armenia's ruling coalition retained a parliamentary majority following
the May 2012 elections amid allegations of abuse of administrative
resources, and intimidation of voters, observers, and journalists,
starts the part dedicated to Armenia.
The government has yet to offer conscientious objectors a genuine
civilian alternative to military service and has failed to effectively
investigate a troubling number of non-combat deaths in the military.
Politically motivated defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be
a problem, but media pluralism is lacking, and some journalists
covering the May 6 parliamentary elections suffered violent attacks
by onlookers, some of them members of Armenia's ruling political party.
Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation are serious
problems. Bureaucratic restrictions prevent people with terminal
illnesses from accessing strong pain medications.
In the part dedicated to the parliamentary elections it is being
stressed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe's (OSCE) monitoring report assessed the May 6 parliamentary
elections as competitive and largely peaceful, yet marred by "an
unequal playing field" due to misuse of administrative resources,
and party representatives and local authorities pressuring voters,
interfering in voting, and hindering the work of journalists.
Several violent incidents occurred during the campaign period in
Yerevan, including assaults on opposition party Armenian National
Congress (ANC) candidate Babken Garoyan and three other ANC members
on April 15, and on ANC candidate Karen Tovmasyan on April 17. In both
cases, the ANC members were distributing campaign information. Police
opened investigations into each case. The report says Helsinki
Association campaign monitor Arman Veziryan filed complaints alleging
that Yerevan resident Tigran Manukyan punched him and hindered his
work as an observer while Veziryan observed an opposition activist
distributing election pamphlets on April 30. Instead of investigating,
prosecutors pressured Veziryan to withdraw the complaint and in June
charged him with beating Manukyan, although Manukyan never claimed
to be a victim.
In Torture and Ill-Treatment in Custody section the report says that
according to local human rights defenders, torture and ill-treatment
in police custody persist. Authorities often refuse to investigate
ill-treatment allegations or coerce citizens into retracting
complaints.
The government has not effectively investigated a complaint from seven
ANC activists that police beat them in detention in August 2011. In
July, the court sentenced four of the activists-Karapetyan, Tigran
Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, and David Kiramijyan-to two to six years'
imprisonment for hooliganism and resisting authority. In November,
the appeals court upheld their sentences. In August, police dropped
charges against the other three for lack of evidence. In October, the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Armenia had violated
the prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment in the case
of opposition party member Grisha Virabyan when police repeatedly hit
him in the testicles with metal objects after detaining him following
demonstrations in 2004. The court denounced the authorities' failure
to effectively investigate.
In the Army Abuses part the report mentions that local human rights
groups reported 44 non-combat army deaths through September.
A January ECtHR ruling found Armenia had violated the right to
religious freedom of two Jehovah's Witnesses by imprisoning them for
refusing to perform mandatory military service in 2003. According
to Forum 18, an international religious freedom nongovernmental
organization, 32 conscientious objectors were in prison as of September
20 for refusing military and alternative service, believing the
alternative service was not independent of the military. In 2012,
courts sentenced to prison terms 16 additional Jehovah's Witnesses
for refusal to serve. The sentences were not enforced.
In 2011, authorities proposed amendments to the alternative service
law. However, the OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE) criticized the
amendments for not making alternative service truly independent of the
military and for making it 12-18 months longer than military service.
In its July review of Armenia, the United Nations Human Rights
Committee (HRC) urged the government to ensure a real alternative
to military service, and release those imprisoned for refusing to
perform military service or the existing alternative to it.
As to Freedom of Expression, the report says politically motivated
defamation lawsuits no longer appear to be a serious problem. However,
a June 2012 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
report on media freedom in Europe found Armenian journalists'
capacity to report was "hampered by pressures of self-censorship"
and expressed concern about television stations' use of material from
political advertisements in news coverage.
At least two journalists suffered attacks while covering the May
elections. In Yerevan, a man punched Elina Chilingaryan as she
filmed a bus arriving at a polling station, knocking her camera
to the ground. Police brought charges against the assailant for
interfering with the professional duties of a journalist. In Gyumri,
four unidentified men approached journalist Karen Alekyan at a polling
station, ripped off his press badge, and broke his camera. Alekyan
filed a complaint.
As to Palliative Care, the report says UN statistics from 2009-2010
suggest that approximately 7,000 people die annually in Armenia
from cancer and HIV/AIDS. However, analysis of strong pain medicine
consumption suggests only about 600 patients with moderate to severe
pain gained access in 2012 to adequate pain relief during the last
stages of their illness.
In Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity part the reports says that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience
employment discrimination, obstacles accessing healthcare, and
physical and psychological abuse in the army, in families, and in
public. On May 8, unidentified people threw a homemade bomb at DIY,
a Yerevan bar frequented by LGBT and women's rights activists.
In the Key International Actors' sector the report mentions
EU President Herman Van Rompuy who visited Yerevan in July and
welcomed Armenian authorities' efforts to deliver more competitive
and transparent parliamentary elections, but cautioned that February
2013 presidential elections should be more democratic.