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WHY THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES NEED AN AMNESTY
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 8 2013
8 October 2013 - 8:17am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The Armenian parliament approved the presidential proposal on amnesty
devoted to the 22nd anniversary of Armenia's Independence Day. The
speaker Ovik Abramyan stressed that amnesty is "an act of humanity,
which will contribute to the improvement of an atmosphere of tolerance
and consolidation in the society." The amnesty will affect 1200
prisoners, 500 of whom will be released almost immediately.
Development of the draft took little time. On September 30th President
Serge Sargsyan presented the proposal for a discussion, and on October
1st the parliamentary commission on state legal affairs adopted it.
The next day a discussion took place at a plenary session, and on
October 3rd MPs voted for the draft. The haste can be explained by
an attempt to create a positive background for Sargsyan's visit to
France - he met Francois Hollande and the chairman of the Senate and
spoke at the PACE session.
However, this is only the surface. In five years it is the third
amnesty in Armenia. Just like amnesties of 2009 and 2011, the amnesty
is aimed at reduction of internal political tension which appeared
due to presence of political prisoners.
As the result of previous amnesties under pressure of local social
activists and international organizations many representatives of
the opposition were released. They were accused of prevention of the
presidential elections of 2008, organization of riots on March 1st,
2008. During trials all accusations were disapproved, because in most
cases they were based on testimonial evidence of policemen.
The acutest question in the current amnesty is whether it will touch
on four activists of the opposition party the Armenian National
Congress, who are accused of street crime; four of them are released
on their own recognizance, and the fourth, Tigran Arakelyan (he is
also accused of obstructing an officer) is serving 6-year sentence
in prison. Arakelyan and his lawyers have many times stated that his
case is a frame-up and is based on testimonial evidence of policemen.
The ANC presented a statement which is based on the Resolution 1900
of the PACE on criteria of defining political prisoners that the whole
situation with Arakelyan enables calling him a political prisoner.
The trial over the ANC activists became well-known due to intensive
activity of ANC representatives in the Council of Europe and Armenia.
Every week protests demanding the release of Arakelyan take place near
the building of the Genral Prosecution. Last month MPs from Prosperous
Armenia, Heritage, Dashnaktsutyun, and the ANC stated on their demand
to release the political prisoner. The opposition organized collecting
signatures in Arakelyan's support. 110 representatives of intelligent
society, including writers, film directors, musicians, journalists,
and social activists signed the statement.
Despite numerous reforms in the justice system, the main problem
hasn't been solved. Armenian courts are still a tool in hands of the
executive power. According to human rights activists, the justice
system continues implementing political orders of the power.
Likely the current amnesty, like two previous ones, will be not only
an effective measure to shut down questions on political prisoners,
but also an attempt to save the face of the justice system, as few
people believe in it.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/46023.html
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 8 2013
8 October 2013 - 8:17am
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The Armenian parliament approved the presidential proposal on amnesty
devoted to the 22nd anniversary of Armenia's Independence Day. The
speaker Ovik Abramyan stressed that amnesty is "an act of humanity,
which will contribute to the improvement of an atmosphere of tolerance
and consolidation in the society." The amnesty will affect 1200
prisoners, 500 of whom will be released almost immediately.
Development of the draft took little time. On September 30th President
Serge Sargsyan presented the proposal for a discussion, and on October
1st the parliamentary commission on state legal affairs adopted it.
The next day a discussion took place at a plenary session, and on
October 3rd MPs voted for the draft. The haste can be explained by
an attempt to create a positive background for Sargsyan's visit to
France - he met Francois Hollande and the chairman of the Senate and
spoke at the PACE session.
However, this is only the surface. In five years it is the third
amnesty in Armenia. Just like amnesties of 2009 and 2011, the amnesty
is aimed at reduction of internal political tension which appeared
due to presence of political prisoners.
As the result of previous amnesties under pressure of local social
activists and international organizations many representatives of
the opposition were released. They were accused of prevention of the
presidential elections of 2008, organization of riots on March 1st,
2008. During trials all accusations were disapproved, because in most
cases they were based on testimonial evidence of policemen.
The acutest question in the current amnesty is whether it will touch
on four activists of the opposition party the Armenian National
Congress, who are accused of street crime; four of them are released
on their own recognizance, and the fourth, Tigran Arakelyan (he is
also accused of obstructing an officer) is serving 6-year sentence
in prison. Arakelyan and his lawyers have many times stated that his
case is a frame-up and is based on testimonial evidence of policemen.
The ANC presented a statement which is based on the Resolution 1900
of the PACE on criteria of defining political prisoners that the whole
situation with Arakelyan enables calling him a political prisoner.
The trial over the ANC activists became well-known due to intensive
activity of ANC representatives in the Council of Europe and Armenia.
Every week protests demanding the release of Arakelyan take place near
the building of the Genral Prosecution. Last month MPs from Prosperous
Armenia, Heritage, Dashnaktsutyun, and the ANC stated on their demand
to release the political prisoner. The opposition organized collecting
signatures in Arakelyan's support. 110 representatives of intelligent
society, including writers, film directors, musicians, journalists,
and social activists signed the statement.
Despite numerous reforms in the justice system, the main problem
hasn't been solved. Armenian courts are still a tool in hands of the
executive power. According to human rights activists, the justice
system continues implementing political orders of the power.
Likely the current amnesty, like two previous ones, will be not only
an effective measure to shut down questions on political prisoners,
but also an attempt to save the face of the justice system, as few
people believe in it.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/46023.html