Mikayel Danielyan was prohibited
The Penitentiary Department of the RA Ministry of Justice prohibited Helsinki Association NGO President Mikayel Danielyan from visiting and monitoring Armenia's penitentiaries.
He was told that the penitentiaries already have a monitoring group for public control. The letter states that Danielyan's monitoring in 2010 has sparked complaints among prisoners and different layers of society.
Mikayel Danielyan says they denied because they refused to be part of the observatory mission adjunct to the Ministry of Justice just because it was "adjunct".
"If the lawyers of the monitoring group agree with that, then that is their problem. Our disagreement prohibited us from entering the prisons," said Mikayel Danielyan.
The Helsinki Association President says keeping 18 people in a prison designed for 12 people is torture and inhumane. He doesn't accept the fact that lawyers started raising concerns about keeping MP Zaruhi Postanjyan's brother in such conditions.
"Why didn't the same monitoring group that signed under the declaration to defend Zaruhi Postanjyan's brother raise concerns back then? Does this mean that they can keep 18-20 people in cells and not keep Zaruhi Postanjyan's brother? That issue shouldn't be personalized," said the speaker.
As for amnesty, Mikayel Danielyan says the objective of amnesty is to get on the good side of the international community.
"The world stopped the flow of cash to Armenia and now the authorities must do everything possible to have that money come back. The only thing these authorities are interested in is keeping power and receiving money," said Danielyan.
Mr. Danielyan says if it weren't for pressure within the country, there wouldn't be any international pressure at all.
