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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CALLS ON ARMENIA POLICE CHIEF AND HEAD OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE TO FIND AND PUNISH THOSE WHICH WERE GUILTY FOR ATTACKING CIVIC ACTIVISTS
by Ashot Safaryan
ARMINFO
Thursday, September 12, 21:40
Human Rights Watch urges Armenia Police Chief, Vladimir Gasparyan,
and Head of Special Investigative Service, Vahram Shahinyan, to take
all appropriate measures to promptly, thoroughly, and effectively
investigate the attacks, identify and bring the perpetrators
to justice, and make clear that such violence against peaceful
demonstrators will be neither tolerated nor condoned. In his letter,
Hugh Williamson, Director Europe and Central Asia division Human
Rights Watch, worries about the growth of the violence cases against
the participants in the peaceful demonstrations and actions in Yerevan.
"In the attacks that Human Rights Watch documented, unidentified men
in civilian clothes set upon individual demonstrators late at night
after they left the protest venues. Victims of the attacks sustained
multiple bruises, including light concussions, a broken nose, and
broken bones. In all five cases, police took victims' reports and in
one case police took the victim to the crime scene. Unfortunately,
to the best of our knowledge, police have not taken further steps
to identify and apprehend the assailants in these cases, even when
one of the victims was able to identify those he suspected of being
his attackers.
The five people whom Human Rights Watch interviewed had been involved
in protests held in front of the city municipal building and the
ruling Republican Party headquarters. They were attacked in three
separate incidents", - the letter says.
"We urge you to take immediate steps to conduct comprehensive
investigations into all allegations of attacks against peaceful
demonstrators. Such investigations should be conclusive, public,
involve the participation of the victims, and be capable of leading to
the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators. Accountability
for these assaults is essential to demonstrate the government's
commitment to justice and to prevent any attempts to attack freedom of
assembly. Finding and prosecuting the perpetrators would demonstrate
that the authorities are not condoning or tolerating such violence",
- the letter says.
by Ashot Safaryan
ARMINFO
Thursday, September 12, 21:40
Human Rights Watch urges Armenia Police Chief, Vladimir Gasparyan,
and Head of Special Investigative Service, Vahram Shahinyan, to take
all appropriate measures to promptly, thoroughly, and effectively
investigate the attacks, identify and bring the perpetrators
to justice, and make clear that such violence against peaceful
demonstrators will be neither tolerated nor condoned. In his letter,
Hugh Williamson, Director Europe and Central Asia division Human
Rights Watch, worries about the growth of the violence cases against
the participants in the peaceful demonstrations and actions in Yerevan.
"In the attacks that Human Rights Watch documented, unidentified men
in civilian clothes set upon individual demonstrators late at night
after they left the protest venues. Victims of the attacks sustained
multiple bruises, including light concussions, a broken nose, and
broken bones. In all five cases, police took victims' reports and in
one case police took the victim to the crime scene. Unfortunately,
to the best of our knowledge, police have not taken further steps
to identify and apprehend the assailants in these cases, even when
one of the victims was able to identify those he suspected of being
his attackers.
The five people whom Human Rights Watch interviewed had been involved
in protests held in front of the city municipal building and the
ruling Republican Party headquarters. They were attacked in three
separate incidents", - the letter says.
"We urge you to take immediate steps to conduct comprehensive
investigations into all allegations of attacks against peaceful
demonstrators. Such investigations should be conclusive, public,
involve the participation of the victims, and be capable of leading to
the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators. Accountability
for these assaults is essential to demonstrate the government's
commitment to justice and to prevent any attempts to attack freedom of
assembly. Finding and prosecuting the perpetrators would demonstrate
that the authorities are not condoning or tolerating such violence",
- the letter says.