ARMENIA’S REPUTATION IN JEOPARDY
Support A1+!RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan met with EU Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg.
According to the press release of the Human Rights office, during the meeting the Ombudsman praised the creation of the fact-finding group. Harutyunyan noted that this is a sign of progress, that the order of the president is constitutional and considered the participation of international experts as appropriate.
As far as the issue of prisoners based on the case of the events of March 1 and 2 is concerned, Armen Harutyunyan expressed concern about the issues presented by the attorneys of the prisoners of the “Case of the Seven”. The Ombudsman noted that Armenia’s reputation is in jeopardy and that new concepts of law are coming into play. He expressed satisfaction that the court had prolonged the deadline for getting acquainted with the cases of the seven prisoners.
Discussing the assaults on mass media representatives, the Commissioner expressed the opinion that there is no guarantee that those who shape the culture of assaults will not be the next victims. This also puts the country’s stability in jeopardy. The Ombudsman remarked that it would be right to discuss the issue of expert qualification of officials directing the investigative operations in the case of not finding the guilty.
The Ombudsman also presented the difference between pardon and amnesty and stated that amnesty doesn’t require the final verdict of the court or confession of guilt.
