Armenian Human Rights Defender Reports Violations During Detention of Protesters
YEREVAN, April 29. /ARKA/. The Office of the Armenian Human Rights Defender urged today in a statement riot police to avoid use of disproportionate force against opposition supporters who have been protesting in the capital Yerevan for several days already trying to make Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan step down.
The Office said its employees conducted interviews with 35 protesters detained during the protest rallies and watched also video recordings of detentions.
According to the statement, 7 minors were taken to the police, one of whom was 13 years old. According to eyewitnesses, the 13-year-old was put in the car by four police officers, and the others were taken to the police by four to six police officers. One of the police officers was informed about the age of the 13 year-old minor, but the latter ignored this fact. No administrative case was initiated against the minor and he was released from the police.
The statement says that a monitoring of the video materials published in the media shows that many detainees were not given explanations about the reasons behind their detention, they were not informed about their basic rights to have lawyer, the right to silence, the right to use telephone. Cases of use of disproportionate physical force were also reported.
These and other breaches have been summarized by the Office of the Human Rights Defender, and the necessary measures will be taken.
The Human Rights Defender stated that the detention of citizens by police officers is carried out with violations of a number of their rights. Based on the aforementioned, the Human Rights Defender called on the Armenian police to behave lawfully while performing their official duties, provide opportunities for the realization of the minimum rights of persons deprived of their freedom.
The Rapid Response Teams of the Human Rights Defender's Office continue round-the-clock monitoring, including the detection of extreme and dangerous speech. -0-
