RA Ombudsman not satisfied with format
Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan will not take part in the forum of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) to be held in Yerevan on April 6-8.
The format and theme offered to Armen Harutyunyan to speak at the forum on "Justice: Right to Effective Defense in an Independent Court" will not give Armen Harutyunyan the opportunity to present the situation in Armenia appropriately.
Mr. Harutyunyan told "A1+" that he found out about his invitation to speak through e-mail.
"I met with the president of the federation in Armenia and told him that I view my speech in a different format and will not participate," he said.
If he participated, Mr. Harutynyan would touch upon the fact that it is needless to talk about the right to an effective defense in Armenian courts. "There is no competition in courts. The judges and prosecutors apparently don't have equal status. It is very strange for us to see that imprisonment continues to be the main precautionary measure. We have many issues connected to a fair trial and I would touch upon that in detail if I were to speak at the forum."
"I don't avoid using the term "political prisoner"
"A1+" tried to find out why the Ombudsman who has been following up on all trials of the events of March 1 avoids using the word "political prisoner".
"I don't avoid using it. I simply find that it is not right for an Ombudsman to use that kind of terminology. If I were a politician, I would use those kinds of words. The term "political prisoner" is not a legal category. You will not find any international organization that uses that term," said Harutyunyan.
Weren't the representatives of the opposition sentenced for their political views and activities? In response, Mr. Harutyunyan said: "If you study the cases, in many of them there can be grounds from the legal angle. In that case, when you are certain, it is hard to say that it was political. We can say we don't accept the cases in which only the police were eyewitnesses."
Armen Harutyunyan believes he has given his evaluations on the legal violations during the trials by registering and predicting what was going to happen with the verdicts at the European Court.
Should they say "we're not talking to the Armenian authorities"?
Touching upon the statement by the PACE Co-rapporteurs on Armenia Prescott and Colombier according to which they welcome the Armenian authorities' willingness to present a time-frame for eliminating the consequences of the events of March 1, 2008, Armen Harutyunyan said:
"They are politicians and I don't interpret the reports and statements by politicians."
He took note that the government and the opposition of Armenia each interpret the statement in their own way and don't touch upon the most important part. "Apparently, it is a very clear and balanced report that maintains all ethical norms. They welcome the Armenian authorities' willingness, but most importantly, the co-rapporteurs state that the case is more important to them. In Armenia, people want Prescott and Colombier to leave the PACE, or become a deputy of the National Assembly or join the Armenian National Congress. What, should they say "we're not talking to the Armenian authorities" and that's it?"
As far as the CE Committee on the Fight against Torture and the reports by the US State Department are concerned, Mr. Harutyunyan believes they mainly present the reality and fall in line with the report by the RA Ombudsman's office in most issues.
Armen Harutyunyan considers that the primary issue concerning Armenia is the full guarantee and defense of civil and political rights and liberties. "All current issues relating to society, economy and monopolies are a result of the violation of rights."
Mr. Harutyunyan called on everybody to fight for their rights and assured that setting the RA Ombudsman's office on the right track is all just a matter of time.
