“Police used excessive force to suppress largely peaceful demonstrations in the capital, Yerevan, in July. Hundreds of individuals were arbitrarily arrested. Many reported being injured, beaten or otherwise ill-treated during the arrest and while in detention,” reads the annual report for 2016 to 2017 released by Amnesty International human rights organization turning to human rights violations in Armenia in 2016.
The annual report delivers comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights around the world covering 159 countries.
As the human rights organization notes in the part about Armenia, the year was marked by economic and political volatility in Armenia, and growing security concerns linked to the outbreak of large-scale military confrontation in April in Nagorno-Karabakh, the breakaway region of Azerbaijan supported by Armenia. Prime Minister Abrahamyan resigned, citing his government’s failure to address economic and political challenges. On 13 September, President Sargsyan appointed former Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan as the new Prime Minister.
The report turns to the July events regarding the seizure of the police compound by the armed group called Daredevils of Sassoun (Sasna Tsrer) noting that hundreds of people gathered at the Liberty Square to show solidarity with the gunmen and join their calls for the release of the imprisoned opposition activist Jirair Sefilian – who had been charged with illegal arms possession – and to call for the resignation of the President.
“On 20 July, clashes ensued after police refused to allow protesters to pass food to the armed group inside the compound. Some protesters started pushing police officers and throwing stones and water bottles. Police responded by using stun grenades and tear gas indiscriminately and injured many peaceful protesters and bystanders. Police then started dispersing the rally and arresting participants. Several eyewitnesses said that police officers chased and beat fleeing demonstrators before arresting them; 136 people were reported detained, dozens injured,” the report reads.
The human rights organization went on presenting the violations registered on 29 July when used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators in Sari-Tagh. The police warned the crowd to disperse; shortly afterwards they fired tear gas and threw stun grenades indiscriminately, wounding dozens of demonstrators and some journalists.
“At least 14 journalists reported being deliberately targeted by stun grenades and beaten to prevent them from live reporting. At least 60 people were reported injured and hospitalized, including with severe burns from exploding grenades,” says the report.
The organization also reported about torture and ill-treatment by police and in detention facilities noting that they continued to be widely reported. The report mentioned the ill-treatment against activist Vardges Gaspari as well as against the other activists detained during July events.
In the last section of the report, the human rights organization touches upon the changes made by the Armenian Government in the law on abortion to ban sex-selective abortion between the 12th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy.
“The new law introduced a mandatory three-day waiting period and counselling for women after they had made the initial appointment for an abortion. Some women’s groups raised concerns that the waiting period might be used to discourage women from having abortions and result in increased corruption, unsafe abortions and, consequently, an increase in maternal mortality,” reads the report.