Complaint lodged to the European Court of Human Rights on the case of the Khudoyans forcibly removed from the area in front of the presidential palace
11:45, July 4, 2016 | News, Own news | Freedom of Assembly and Association, Right to an Effective Remedy of Legal Protection, Right to be free from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to liberty and security, Right to Respect for Private and Family LifeHCA Vanadzor lodged a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights on the case of Ashot Khudoyan and Heghine Makaryan, protesting spouses forcibly removed by a group of plain-clothes police officers from the area in front of the RA Presidential Palace due to the official visit of the Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin to the Republic of Armenia on December 2, 2013. The complaint concerned violations under Article 11 (Freedom of assembly and association), Article 3 (Right to be free from torture), Article 8 (Right to respect for private and family life), Article 5 (Right to liberty and security) and Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The complaint referred to the fact that at the moment over 15 police officers exerted violence, the spouses were exercising their conventional right to assembly; furthermore, when removed from the assembly area, Ashot Khudoyan suffered bodily injuries, and Heghine Makaryan suffered grave emotional experience since their children were transported by a separate cars, and their 8-month-old baby was left at the assembly area.
The belongings of the protesting family, including their money and other valuable items, were also left there.
Upon being removed forcibly by police officers from the assembly area, they stayed in the car for a long time and then at the police station for over an hour and then stayed in their own apartment under the supervision of the police officers for almost a day, unable to leave it even to buy some food.
By its letter of April 23, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed the receipt of the complaint.