Armenia: A political prisoner to some, a criminal to others

Gayane Abrahamyan: 5/23/08

More than a month after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe demanded that Armenia release "all prisoners who did not commit crimes" during the March 1 political clashes in Yerevan, few of the seeming political reasons have been released.

The April 16 PACE resolution called on Armenia, as a member of the Council of Europe, to release "urgently" those who were "detained on seemingly artificial and politically motivated charges, or who did not personally commit any violent acts or serious offences in connection with them." [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Since the resolution's adoption, only two individuals, Karapet Rubinian, a former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, who managed presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian's campaign in one Yerevan district, and Tigran Baghdasarian, an opposition activist arrested for resisting arrest, have regained their freedom.

Rubinian was released pending a later trial; Baghdasarian was freed on bail. The general prosecutor's office states that two other individuals called in for questioning about the events of March 1 have since been arrested.

On May 22, the opposition member facing the longest prison term – Harutiun Urutian – a campaign manager for Ter-Petrosian in the northwestern Shirak region – had his original seven-year jail term reduced by one year by the Court of Appeals, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

Two of the more prominent prisoners kept in a so-called "pre-trial detention" – opposition leader Aram Karapetian and Ter-Petrosian campaign manager Alexander Arzumanian – have had their detention prolonged by two months.

The government and opposition are far apart when in comes to defining who is a political prisoner. Many government officials continue to insist that the jailed opposition members were taken into custody purely on suspicion of committing criminal acts, and not as part on an effort to exact a measure of political revenge. Opposition leaders dismiss the government claim as patently false. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

At a May 19 discussion about the PACE resolution, President Serzh Sarkisian appeared to walk a fine line in addressing the issue, hinting at a desire to honor the PACE resolution, but making no definitive statements. "It is important that we be guided by criminal law, and that there be no political decisions," local media outlets reported Sarkisian as saying in reference to the dozens of supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian who were arrested after March 1. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"No one who committed a grave crime must go unpunished," he continued. "However, a person must not be sentenced [to prison] for their political convictions and beliefs."

As of May 12, 54 individuals of 135 arrested after the March 1 clashes remain in jail; another 30 have been charged, but were released after signing a document that forbids them from leaving the country, according to the general prosecutor's office. March 1 detainees are mostly facing charges of attempting to overthrow the government through mass disturbances, and with using force against "representatives of the authorities."

Ter-Petrosian's office puts the number of detainees at 96, but concedes that the figure includes people detained during the election campaign.

Back in April, former president Robert Kocharian announced that an investigative panel would present facts to prove the government's assertions concerning the prisoners. To date, however, no conclusive findings have been released, although special investigators on May 22 issued a statement about the construction of some 80 metal objects allegedly used by demonstrators to "cause bodily injuries to police officers and to provoke mass disorders" on March 1.

Controversial court hearings are held almost daily in Yerevan and other towns; crowds often gather to protest. In Gyumri, Armenia's second largest town, opposition members broke courthouse windows demanding permission to attend a trial. Those who manage to get into courtrooms often refuse to stand when the judge enters; and the accused are greeted with applause.

A report released in late April by Armenia's Human Rights Defender Armen Harutiunian noted that "society wants to know why the [March 1] prisoners are from the opposition alone." A task force set up by Harutiunian has visited about 90 of the detainees; reportedly 10 percent of those interviewed claimed that they had been tortured in police stations, or while being brought into the stations.

Among those who question the imprisonment of these detainees is political analyst Stepan Grigorian, formerly associated with the pro-opposition Armat political analysis center. "I am astonished by the repressive capacities of our country," commented Grigorian.

Artur Sakunts, chairman of the Vanadzor office for the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, a human rights organization, questioned whether an objective government investigation into the cases was possible. "They punish people, saying they held a stick in their hands, they beat a policeman armed with a truncheon and a stun gun, or they kept 40 bullets at home," Sakunts said. "But who killed those 10 people? Three months have already past, but the relatives of the victims don't even hope [to get an answer]." [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Mikayel Baghdasarian, chairman of a prison watchdog group who has visited about 70 of the detainees, says that investigations are dragging along. "My impression is that people are kept under arrest simply to buy time until things stabilize, and, to intimidate them. In many cases, the investigator has not even visited them for a month, and many of them simply don't know why they are there and why their arrest keeps being prolonged," Baghdasarian said.

Hunger strikes have been one method taken by detainees to protest their arrest; friends and relatives often join in. On May 21, a hunger strike against the detention of New Rights Party leader Aram Karapetian ended. Strikes to release veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Azerbaijan, however, continue.

On May 2, Ter-Petrosian stated that he would agree to talks with the government "if authorities fulfill the PACE requirements and release [our] imprisoned friends," but the pledge had little political effect.

Editor's Note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow.com weekly in Yerevan.

Posted May 23, 2008 © Eurasianet