The 26^th of June
is proclaimed by the UN as the International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture, and it has been observed since 1997. Today “Civil Society Institute”
NGO together with “Foundation Against Violations of Law” NGO organized a march
and picketing with a motto “Armenia without torture”.

During the march letters
with a number of recommendations aimed at torture prevention were handed to the
relevant state bodies: the Police of Armenia, the Office of the Prosecutor
General of Armenia, the Court of Cassation and the Special Investigative
Service. The recommendations will be also mailed to the Armenian Ministry of
Justice and the National Assembly.

The participants of the
march were holding posters with slogans:”A beating policeman is weak -minded
and a butcher”, “Don't investigate a crime by committing another crime”,
“Victims of torture still waiting for justice” and other, including memorial
posters of Levon Gulyan and Vahan Khalafyan who are victims of torture at the
police stations.

A group of policemen met
the demonstrators nearby the police headquarters. A policeman who introduced
himself as Gevorgyan, a deputy chief of the Kentron Police, stated that “the
building of the police is a regiment object and it is not allowed to stand in
front of it, but instead the participants of the demonstration are allowed to
stand on the opposite walk side.”

“Please tell us which provision of which law
defines that we, a group of 20 peaceful demonstrators, cannot cross the street
and assemble near the building of police headquarters given that we do not
chant anything and there is no intention to disturb the police from their
normal working regime, we don't block the street, we do not restrict others'
right to free movement?” asked one of the demonstration participants, Mary
Alexanyan, representing the Civil Society Institute.

“We do not refer to the
law, we do not have so much time to refer to every law. You can ask the
information officers at the police, they will answer all your questions”, said
the policeman.

The representatives of the
organizations, accompanied by a policeman, handed over the letter to a duty
officer, then continued the march.

The next picketing was held
in front of the First Instance Court of Kentron and Nork Marash administrative districts,
where at 12 p.m. the hearings of the criminal case against two policemen accused
of subjecting Robert Hovsepyan to torture and committing forgery at the police
station started. “The fact that torture practice is common in the system is not
excluded also by the Head of the Armenian Police. He announced at the meeting
of police in last December that there was no need to investigate crimes by
means of beating and torture, that a beating policeman was weak-minded and a
butcher”. We want to believe that the statement of the Head of Police was not
mere a statement and that he will do everything to eliminate the practice of
torture in the system”, mentioned Mary Alexanyan in interview to the
journalists, and added that the recommendations presented by them also aim at
eliminating torture practice.

The organizers of the
action stated that “Civil Society Institute” and “Foundation Against Violations
of Law” NGOs have always kept in focus the issue of torture prevention and are
ready to provide their expertise to make efforts in combating torture more
efficient. Zara Amatuni, Communications Manager at CSI, said that recommendations
submitted to the relevant authorities include changes to legislation as well as
in the implementation practice. Such recommendations refer to the issue of definition
of “torture” and bringing it into compliance with the UN Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, which
Armenia acceded in 1993. Until now Article 119 of the Criminal Code of Armenia defining
torture is not brought into compliance with the definition of torture in the UN
Convention against Torture. This is one of the reasons that beating and
violence exercised at police stations to extract confessions are not treated as
torture. CSI sent information request to the Special Investigative Service
(SIS) and it became clear that in 2010-2012 no criminal cases on charges under
Article 119 were investigated by the SIS. Cruel treatment and instances of
violence applied by police are charged under Articles 308 and 309 of the Armenian
Criminal Code (abuse of official power, abuse of authority). In 2012 the SIS prepared
case files into 43 allegations of this kind, however only in 2 cases criminal
investigation was opened, and only 1 case was transferred to court.

Among other recommendations of the
organizations are organization of professional training of the staff and
regular attestation of professional capacities; referral of any allegation of
torture and ill-treatment raised before a court to the SIS and instituting a
criminal case; not using evidence allegedly extorted through such means until
the investigation proves that there was no torture exercised.

Civil Society Institute is
organizing a flash mob at the Northern Avenue at 18:30, which also is devoted
to the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.