Detainees are tortured in advance
Torture cases have moved from the Site for Keeping Prisoners to the police divisions. This was the conclusion by head of the group of observers at the Sites for Keeping Prisoners of the RA Police, Suren Iskandaryan. According to him, there were only 2-3 cases of torture at Sites for Keeping Prisoners in 2009. However, that is not because there Is no more torture in prison, but because: "The detainees tell us that they were kept at the division for two days and then moved to the prison. Keeping somebody in a room for two days is torture."
The independent group has been around since 2006. It makes planned and unplanned visits to the Sits for Keeping Prisoners. The group includes representatives of non-governmental organizations. During the visits, the representatives register facts, prepare protocols, send surveys to the RA Chief of Police and then prepare a year-end report and disseminate to the society.
Suren Iskandaryan told "A1+" that they receive 10-12 calls a month.
People are interested in their rights, complain about prohibitions for visits and more. The group head is convinced that many employees of the Sites for Keeping Prisoners are not aware of the law. For instance, somebody from Kapan called and complained that he was not allowed to see his son at the Site for Keeping Prisoners based on the reason that there is no such thing as visiting. "When the parent was at the division, we asked to pass the phone. We were told that we don't know the law and that there is a confidential order. We went after him and found out that there was no prohibition in the prisoners' personal files," said Suren Iskandaryan, adding that they also witnessed another interesting case. "It turned out that the mother was her son's advocate and had the right to visit her son without any limitations. This was ignorance.The on-duty officer said that I had prepared a form. I told him that he had no right to prepare a form because there is already a form by law."
The Sites for Keeping Prisoners also face domestic issues. There are sites where there are no clinics, nutrition remains an issue, there is no heating, etc. "We can say that the situation is uncontrolled. True, it is very good compared to before, but when we traveled to Austria, we were surprised to see the sites there. The conditions were totally different and it was like a rest house compared to our sites," says Suren Iskandaryan, mentioning that they have suggestions and will present them in the 2009 report.
