Human Rights are Violated Everywhere
00:00, February 21, 2007 | Civil Control, PoliceSays Arthur Sakunts, the coordinator of HCA Vanadzor.
– Your organization deals with those whose rights are violated. These relations are both in Vanadzor and out of it. Do you think that human rights are more violated in the regions than in the capital?
– No, I don’t think so. In this respect the region cannot differ from the capital. Everyone lives in the same system and everything is connected in that system. If human rights are violated by the police or the judicial system, then they are doing the orders of their central structure. In the regions inter-personal relations can counteract more strongly; here it is more difficult to oppress or enforce the citizen. But this does not mean that the person is fully protected. Vanadzor surely does not differ from other places of the country or from the capital. Here also the person meets the machine that violates his right. I will talk about some facts on how human rights and dignity are abused. Let’s begin with the moment when the person is detained. Somebody can be detained based on one testimony. A young man was arrested in connection with a murder of a woman in Gugark village. The woman who did the murder gave evidence against the young man, but she surrendered the same day. Only on the third or fourth day she said that the young man had also participated in the murder. This woman is a prostitute and a lot of people made use of her service, including that young man. She said that she had not given any testimony against him before that, as she loved him. There was no other evidence or justification for detaining or suspecting the young man. This is a vivid example of human rights violation, as according to the Criminal Procedure Code there should be enough bases for keeping a person in custody. In this case these bases lacked. Furthermore, this young man was ill with diabetes.
Another example is connected with the criminal case of the head of environmental department of Vanadzor. With serious violations of the Criminal procedure Code witnesses were examined with that case. The witnesses had high temperature or blood pressure. They have been examined for 12-15 hours continuously without food and presence of attorneys and they were taken from prosecutor’s office to the police station. Within the frames of this case the 58-year old Svetlana Sakanyan was accused. The period of her detention has been prolonged for three times with violations as Marzpet Khachatryan, the investigator of the prosecutor’s office wanted it. The latter made decisions without the presence of the advocate. In answer to our question how the court made such a decision he said that Sakanyan’s health did not allow taking her to Vanadzor from Abovyan detention place.
-During the pre-electoral period the atmosphere is tense. What is the pre-electoral Lori like?
-As in the whole republic here we also have tension, physical and psychological oppressions. The community heads, the mayor, the governor, the prosecutor, the chief of police, financial and political groups make impact on the atmosphere of the town. The change of the Lori region governor was unexpected for us. The reason is not known. One thing is clear; Henrik Kochinyan’s behaviour in connection with his business negatively influenced the atmosphere of the town.
The newly appointed head is maybe still getting acquainted with the staff. And the behaviour of the police depends on the political order. There is one more thing; many employees of the police, mainly the professionals, do not want to be used as power structures for political purposes. Basically, they are devalued in their own eyes when they become a tool of political persecutions as they do something, which is not their obligation. Therefore, many professionals give up the system. Mainly those stay who can perform orders, who work not with brains but with violence. This is what decreases the effectiveness of the work of the police system and defames the system in the eyes of society. This year we do not exclude physical violence among the public. In connection with human rights violations during the pre-electoral period, I would like to speak about the visit of the minister of defence to Vanadzor. I addressed a question to the minister on whether or not soldiers would have the chance to meet the candidates for getting familiar with their programmes if they participated in the elections, the answer was quick “No, they won’t. The schedule of the army does not allow having free time. The soldiers will get familiar with the programmes on TV and in the newspapers they receive.” From this answer we can see that such a big power structure as the army becomes an electorate that passes through the channel of commanders; about 70 thousand citizens are deprived of their right to free choice.
Naira Vanyan
February 20, “Aravot”