HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: "THE AUTHORITIES’ RESPONSE TO THE MARCH 1 EVENTS HAS BEEN ONE-SIDED"
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[12:33 pm] 25 February, 2009
Human Rights Watch, one of the world’s leading independent
organizations dealing with the protection of human rights, has made a
report on Armenia’s Disputed 2008 Presidential Election, Post-Election
Violence, and the One-Sided Pursuit of Accountability.
"Armenia has yet to hold the police accountable for their excessive
use of force a year after a day of clashes with protesters that led
to at least 10 deaths," Human Rights Watch said in its comprehensive
report today.
The 64-page report, "Democracy on Rocky Ground: Armenia’s Disputed
2008 Presidential Election, Post-Election Violence, and the One-Sided
Pursuit of Accountability," details the clashes between police and
protesters in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on March 1, 2008, in the wake
of the disputed February 2008 presidential polls. It also documents
the ill-treatment of individuals detained in connection with the
violence, and lack of comprehensive investigation and accountability
for excessive use of force on March 1 and in its aftermath. The report
is based on more than 80 interviews carried out over three research
missions in Armenia in 2008 and 2009.
"The full picture of what happened almost a year ago in Yerevan has
yet to emerge," said Giorgi Gogia, researcher at Human Rights Watch
and author of the report. "This much is clear: at various times on
March 1, security forces used excessive force against demonstrators."
On March 1, 2008, police clashed with protesters in downtown Yerevan,
demonstrating against disputed results of the presidential election. In
several episodes in different parts of the city, police variously set
upon protesters without warning or resistance, negotiated, withdrew,
and returned to the offensive and finally fought a pitched battle with
a small group of protesters. As a result, at least 10 people died –
eight protesters and two police officers – and scores were injured.
While the Armenian authorities have investigated, prosecuted, and
convicted dozens of opposition members, sometimes in flawed and
politically motivated trials, in connection with the demonstration
and violence, they have not prosecuted a single representative of
the law enforcement agencies for excessive use of force.
Serj Sargsyan, the prime minister, was declared the winner of the
February 19, 2008, presidential election over the opposition candidate,
Levon Ter-Petrossian. A group of protesters contending that Sargsyan’s
victory was the result of fraud established a continuous protest on
Yerevan’s Freedom Square immediately after the election, with daily
rallies; some camped out overnight in tents set up on the square.
Human Rights Watch research indicated that police used excessive
force in a pre-dawn raid on the tents on March 1, justified as a
search for weapons. This led to a much larger demonstration in front
of the French Embassy in downtown Yerevan. By evening, with a major,
violent confrontation unfolding on the streets of the capital, the
outgoing president, Robert Kocharyan, declared a 20-day state of
emergency during which public gatherings and strikes were banned and
media freedoms were significantly curtailed.
"The authorities’ response to the March 1 events has been one-sided,"
said Gogia. "The fact that police were themselves under attack at times
by no means excuses them for incidents when they used excessive force."
The report also documents ill-treatment of detainees and other
violations of due process rights following the March 1 events. Human
Rights Watch spoke to people who had been beaten during arrest,
and assaulted, verbally abused, and threatened while in police
custody. Many detainees were denied the right to inform their families
of their whereabouts, and were refused access to lawyers of their
own choosing.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to investigate the use of
police force in the March 1 clashes, emphasizing that each distinct
police action during the day should be assessed separately. Where
there was evidence that the use of force went outside the boundaries
of legitimate policing, all the perpetrators (including those who gave
the orders) should be prosecuted. Human Rights Watch also urged an
investigation into all allegations of ill-treatment of people detained
in connection with March 1 events, also leading to identification
and prosecution of those responsible.