HRD employees visited PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan, after which HRD issued a statement. The statement says: “As a result of the monitoring of mass media in the staff of the human rights defender, information was recorded that on July 6, 2026, the chairman of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, Gagik Tsarukyan, was arrested.
Later, the information was published that the arrest restraining measure was applied to the latter by the decision of the court.
On the same day, the Hotline of the Defender’s Office received calls that searches were being conducted in the private house of Gagik Tsarukyan and other areas belonging to him, but the lawyers who appeared at the scene of the operation were not allowed to enter and participate in the operation. As a result of the rapid response of the HRD institution, a number of raised issues were resolved. The study of the issue regarding other alarms continues in the staff of the Defender.
Later, a video related to the case was circulated with footage of the actual deprivation of the person’s freedom, and concerns were raised that disproportionate physical force was applied to the person in the event that, according to those concerns, the latter did not initially show any resistance, and the handcuffs used were smaller than the size of the person’s wrists.
On July 8, 2026, on the instructions of Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan, representatives of HRD visited the “Yerevan-Kentron” penal institution of RA Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to visit Gagik Tsarukyan and learn about the state of ensuring his rights. During the visit, a private conversation was held with the latter, the relevant documents, health condition, detention conditions and other issues related to the provision of rights were studied. The content of the interview is confidential and not subject to publication.
The human rights defender emphasizes that law enforcement agencies have a key role in the detection of violations and the fight against crime. The state must take all necessary and legal measures to prevent, detect, and properly investigate violations of law. The realization of those goals also implies the use of various tools, including the imprisonment of persons, the use of physical force, and the implementation of appropriate actions defined by law. At the same time, it is crucial that law enforcement and other competent authorities carry out their functions in strict compliance with relevant human rights standards.
The human rights defender emphasizes that the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly recorded that the use of physical force and special measures must comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality in each case, and the legality of their use is subject to assessment based on the specific factual circumstances of each case.
The legality of handcuffing or the use of physical force cannot be determined solely by the fact that the person is under arrest, but must be based on specific factual circumstances that may indicate, for example, resistance, escape, self-harm or a real threat to the safety of other persons. If it is deemed necessary to handcuff a person, it should never be too tight and should only be used for as long as is absolutely necessary.
Taking into account that the shared video raises questions about the use of handcuffs and physical force in terms of compliance with legal standards, the Human Rights Defender has launched an investigation into the issue. According to the RA Constitutional Law “On the Defender of Human Rights”, when studying or discussing the complaint, as well as when conducting a discussion on his own initiative, the Defender is OBLIGED to give the opportunity to the state or local self-government body, organization or their official or representative, whose decision or action (inaction) is being appealed, to provide clarifications regarding the complaint and the results of the conducted studies, as well as justify his position.
After receiving relevant clarifications and other necessary information regarding the necessity, grounds and other circumstances of the use of physical force and handcuffs from the competent state bodies, the Human Rights Defender will summarize the results of the study.
At the same time, the Human Rights Defender emphasizes that there are systemic problems in Armenia regarding the legality of the use of physical force and special measures, which the Defender has addressed many times, both in annual reports and in special reports. In this regard, the Defender emphasizes the implementation of systemic reforms and the improvement of sector practice.
Other results of the study and the visit to the penitentiary institution are summarized in the HRD staff, appropriate measures will be taken within the scope of the mandate of the Defender.
—
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2026/07/08/hrd-representatives-visited-gagik-tsarukyan-today/
