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On 24 March 2017, the Union of Informed Citizens NGO (“UIC”) exposed outrageous abuse of public and administrative resources for the benefit of the Republican Party of Armenia (“RPA”) during the Republic of Armenia National Assembly election campaign by staff of a number of community and district municipalities and regional government offices of the Republic of Armenia, in abuse of official position and by means of engaging principals of 114 educational institutions.

Principals of 30 kindergartens and 84 schools, resorting in some cases to intimidation, enlisted voters, staff, and parents, and by recording their personal data, preached voting for the incumbent political force, subsequently transferring the lists to state and municipal officials that were members of the RPA, as well as to RPA’s campaign headquarters.

To date, law-enforcement authorities have neither initiated a criminal case nor carried out an investigation. They have not given a legal assessment of either the abuse and/or exceeding of official authority by officials of administrative bodies for the purpose of abusing administrative resources, or the alleged exertion of influence for pecuniary purposes and for administering mob law.

Instead, continuing to abuse the administrative resources, the power forced 30 principals of educational institutions to file court claims against D. Ioannisyan and the UIC, each demanding two million drams as compensation of moral damage for the alleged defamation suffered by them, in addition to demanding refutation.

It is noteworthy that, the Special Investigative Service of the Republic of Armenia has failed to initiate a criminal case into the leakage of certain information concerning the private and family life of D. Ioannisyan and his family members, to which only the Police could have had access, although D. Ioannisyan filed a crime report back on 28 March 2017.

The filing of the principals’ defamation and refutation court claims against D. Ioannisyan and the UIC was preceded by a threat by A. Ashotyan, RPA Vice-President, that UIC would be stripped of the right to carry out an election observation mission, as well as the statement by Artak Zakaryan, member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, member of the RPA faction, that D. Ioannisyan was acting in violation of law when carrying out the investigation concerned, as well as Ashotyan’s statement supporting the filing of the court claim, all of which testify that the RPA’s political leaders have decided to punish D. Ioannisyan and the UIC for exposing the fact of organized and mass abuse of administrative resources.

It is obvious that the Armenian authorities are trying to implement a public act of punishment against a human rights defender and human rights organization that exposed the violations of voting rights of Armenian citizens, as an instrument for safeguarding the impunity system that has formed in the Republic of Armenia, as a warning to all citizens and NGOs and civic initiatives that may try to adopt the stance of a rights-demanding citizen.

We commend the efforts exerted by D. Ioannisyan and the UIC to expose the abuse of public resources and trust and demand that the Armenian authorities:

• Immediately stop the political persecution against D. Ioannisyan and the UIC;
• Immediately investigate the abuse of administrative resources by officials of administrative bodies; and
• Terminate the abuse of educational institutions for political purposes, which results in discrediting the education system—a key institution of the state.

We call upon citizens, the mass media, non-governmental organizations, political parties, foundations, and civic initiatives to support the defense of D. Ioannisyan and the Union of Informed Citizens NGO.

12 April 2017

Others may join this Statement.

Asparez Club of Journalists

Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor Office

Armenia Helsinki Committee

Open Society Foundations-Armenia

Martuni Women’s Community Council NGO

Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center

Protection of Rights without Borders NGO

Women’s Resource Center Armenia

Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression

Information Center for Rights NGO

Yerevan Press Club

“Sose Women’s Issues” NGO

LogoS Human Rights Defence NGO 

Real World, Real People NGO

Helsinki Human Rights Group of Spitak NGO

Regional Development and Research Center NGO

Biosophia NGO

Analytical Center for Globalization and Regional Cooperation

Women’s Support Center

Yerevan Center for Protection of Human Rights NGO

Boundaries of Our Rights NGO

Blejan environmental, social and business NGO

A.D.Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Protection Center NGO

Public Information and Need of Knowledge NGO (PINK-Armenia)

For Equal Rights NGO

Ecological Rights NGO

Human Rights House Yerevan

Yeghegnadzor Civic Youth Center

Investigative Journalists NGO

Helsinki Association

International Center for Human Development

Khoran Ard Intellectual NGO

Women’s Rights Center NGO

Institute of Public Policy NGO

Collaboration for Democracy Centre

Armavir Civic Youth Center