0 8000 12 11

On June 21, 2017 HCA Vanadzor got a call from Armen Shamiryan, convict at ‘Armavir’ penitentiary facilities, who said that the administration of the penitentiary facilities threatened him through their 11 staff members. “I quote the Head’s words: “If you go on filing applications and complaining, you’ll face bad consequences”, he said on phone.

He also said that the video devices installed in the area recorded the penitentiary staff members’ visits to his cell.

On the day following the alert, HCA Vanadzor applied in writing to the RA Ministry of Justice to carry out an internal investigation into the incident.

The RA MoJ Penitentiary Department responded to the letter over a month later and stated in its letter of July 25, 2017 that the meetings of the penitentiary staff members with the convict were conditioned by his behavior. According to the Penitentiary Department’s response, A. Shamiryan refused to return to the cell after his walk, after which a reception was organized for the convict and they “explained to him that disobeying the penitentiary officers’ orders and not returning to the cell may be viewed as breach of the internal regulation requirements and as a result he may face disciplinary penalty.”

Then, according to the response of the Penitentiary Department, the convict wished to return to his cell and “was accompanied by the penitentiary officers to his cell.”

As for what happened after accompanying him to his cell, R. Hovhannisyan, Deputy Head of the Penitentiary Department, did not detail on it. By this, he indirectly denied the fact of threatening A. Shamiryan but at the same time did not refer to the case described by him.