Is violent behaviour resulted by mental disorder?
Pre-trial detainee Shant Harutyunyan is said to be subject to coercion and psychological torture in prison. The press secretary of the Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Department refutes the information saying it is unfounded.
The information was disseminated by the Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners. "Shant Harutyunyan has been isolated for no reason. He is forbidden to see his relatives or talk to them on the phone," said the Committee.
Presently, Shant is undergoing a forensic psychological examination and encounters no restrictions concerning public utilities. As for the Committee's statement regarding Shant Harutyunyan it is a mere slander, for "before being transferred to the Nubarashen clinic, Shant Harutyunyan had met his spouse, sister, representatives of the Human Rights Ombudsman, human rights organizations and parliamentarians," said the Department press secretary Arsen Babayan.
He added that the public had been informed of Shant Harutyunyan's isolation. On March 7 the Department issued a statement saying: "As it was almost impossible to call Shant Harutyunyan to a medical examination, and taking into consideration the fact that the arrestee's violent behaviour may have been resulted by mental insanity, the medical comment said that that arrestee must be isolate and round-the-clock control must be established over him."
Arsen Babayan considered necessary to remind that Shant Harutyunyan had attempted to burn a pillow in the ward and made aggressive steps which might be resulted by the mental disorder.
According to the Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners, "Shant Harutyunyan has been isolated in the Nubarashen clinic since March 7 and even the relatives are denied access to him. We possess no information on Shant's health state."
Note that the Law on Mental Health Service says that people with mental disorders have a right to carry on a correspondence, use a telephone and receive visitors, etc.
