As a
result of the monitoring of social media and mass media publications by the
Human Rights Defender's Office, information has been received that a number of
arrests were held in Yerevan and the regions of Armenia. The hotline of the
Human Rights Defender’s Office received an alarm about the fact that the
location of transporting people deprived of liberty was not known.
The
information received upon the Defender's instruction is being studied in order
to identify possible violations of the rights of persons deprived of their
liberty. Based on the results, necessary steps are taken within the framework
of the mandate of the Human Rights Defender.
The Defender
reaffirms her position that when depriving a person of liberty, it is necessary
to strictly observe the regulations provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code
of the Republic of Armenia and the underlying logic of this legal institution,
to be guided by the relevant legal positions of the European Court of Human
Rights and the domestic courts of the Republic of Armenia, excluding the
practice of depriving a person of liberty in the absence of grounds.
The
Human Rights Defender’s hotline continues to receive calls stating that a
number of vehicles have remained in the special police area since June 18. The
Human Rights Defender constantly addresses the above-mentioned issue, including
in annual reports.
In
the mentioned cases, the Defender has requested clarifications from the
competent state body and will present her position on the issue as a result of
their analysis. The Human Rights Defender emphasizes that vehicles can be
brought to a special area and placed under detention exclusively with the
presence of appropriate legal grounds and by presenting them to citizens, and
not returning the vehicle to the legal owner for a long time without grounds or
with the justification of programmatic or technical problems can raise serious
human rights concerns. Therefore, the Defender attaches importance to strictly
observing the requirements provided by law for transporting vehicles to a
special area and placing them under detention.