The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its member organisation in Armenia, the Civil Society Institute (CSI), and Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), released a briefing paper outlining serious concerns regarding the functioning of the justice system in the Republic of Armenia. The paper was sent to the President of Armenia, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, Head of the Police and Prosecutor General.
Organizations stress that the administration of justice in Armenia has been of concern for many years and remains a serious issue. Two years on, FIDH, CSI and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have conducted a thorough assessment of recent developments in this field. Sadly, significant improvements are still badly needed to shift the general pattern of human rights breaches in this context. Moreover, the individual cases previously highlighted by the organisations have still not been resolved.
The current briefing highlights these deficiencies in six key areas, namely torture and ill treatment, political prisoners, investigations into March 2008 abuses, judicial independence, juvenile justice and the system for early conditional release. In doing so, it provides factual examples to illustrate concerns and a series of recommendations to the Armenian authorities to remedy this situation.
“Our organisations, the International Federation for Human Rights, Civil Society Institute and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee express our deep concern about the issues raised in this briefing. We call upon the authorities to eliminate violations in the administration of justice and ensure the establishment of an independent judiciary and the rule of law. These steps are fundamental to the further democratic development of Armenia”, is outlined in the briefing.
The briefing paper in Armenian and English.
