0 8000 12 11

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor presents its Report on Human Rights Violations by Police in RA in the 1^st half of 2016. According to the findings of the media monitoring, in January-June 2016, 110 incidents of human rights violations by police officers were identified in RA. As compared to the 1^st half of 2015, the number of violations decreased by 31 and as compared to the 2^nd half of 2015, it decreased by 53. 53 of the incidents that led to human rights violations occurred during assemblies or due to attending them. As compared to relevant rate in the 1^st half of 2015, this rate decreased by 34 and as compared to that in the 2^nd half, it decreased by 61. In the reporting period, 57 individual incidents leading to human rights violations were identified. As compared to relevant rates of the 1^st half of 2015, the number of incidents increased by 3 and as compared to that of the 2^nd half of 2015, it increased by 8. Unlike the 1^st and 2^nd halves of 2015 when the largest number of violations constituted violations of the right to peaceful and unarmed assemblies (39 and 56 violations, respectively) and the right to liberty and security of person (33 and 31 violations, respectively), in the reporting period the violations of the right to peaceful and unarmed assembly totaled 42, and those of the right to liberty and security of person totaled 36 with 29 violations coupled with violations of other rights. During the reporting period, 43 incidents that led to violations of the right to be free from physical violence were identified; in 31 incidents, such violation was coupled with violations of other rights. The 1^st half of 2016 saw decreased number of incidents that led to violation of the right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment (1^st half of 2016: 14 incidents, 1^st half of 2015: 17 incidents and 2^nd half of 2015: 18 incidents). On the other hand, the number of the incidents that led to the violation of the right to freedom of expression rose sharply. Unlike the 1^st half of 2015 with 3 violations of this right and the 2^nd half of the same year with 2 violations, in the 1^st half of 2016 15 (13.9% of the overall number of violations) incidents leading to the violation of the right to freedom of expression were identified. In the 1^st half of 2016, the police also violated the rights below both in isolation and coupled with other rights: right to inviolability of property (8 incidents), right to non-discrimination (7 incidents), journalists’ right to legal professional activities (6 incidents), right to legal aid (4 incidents), 2 incidents of violation of the right to a fair trial, right to receive information, right to effective legal remedy and 1 incident of violation of the right to respect for privacy and family, right to freedom of movement, right to choose a place of residence and residents’ right to be registered at their place of residence, right to trade secret, right to inviolability of home and right to observation. The number of incidents that led to the violation of journalists’ right to exercise their legal professional activities decreased by 4 in the 1^st half of 2016 as compared to the 1^st half of 2015 (10 incidents) and doubled as compared to the 2^nd half of 2015 (3 incidents). The number of the incidents that led to the violation of the right to non-discrimination rose sharply as well. Unlike the 1^st half of 2015 when no violation of this right was identified, only 1 violation was identified in the 2^nd half, and 7 incidents that led to violation of this right were identified in the 1^st half of 2016. Overall, violations of 18 rights were identified in the 1^st half of 2016. To compare, in the 1^st half of 2015 14 rights were violated and in the 2^nd one 16 rights were violated. Like the 2 halves of 2015, most of the incidents that led to human rights violations in the 1^st half of 2016 were also identified in Yerevan; moreover, as compared with the 1^st half of 2015 the number of such incidents decreased by 9 and as compared to the 2^nd half, it decreased by 31.

For the full text of the Reference, see here.