K. Andreasyan: “Ombudsman’s Office has not weakened”
Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan does not share the opinion that the Ombudsman's Office has weakened its position.
"Just on the contrary, the Ombudsman's Office is strengthening day by day," Andreasyan said when summarizing the results of the last six months.
According to the Armenian Ombudsman, during the reporting period the office has received 600 applications, 150 of which have received a positive solution.
Asked why the Ombudsman's Office has not responded to the unprecedented rise in non-combat deaths in the army, Andreasyan said, "Any incident in the army is one of the primary concerns for the human rights defender. But can we help the investigation with our intervention? The Ombudsman's Office cannot intervene until there is a need for it."
Karen Andreasyan is going to reestablish the rapid response team which will react to alarms of violence.
"Without a high-quality rapid response group the Ombudsman's Office would resemble a human rights organization which would make our work completely senseless," he said.
In September, representatives of the Ombudsman's Office will visit prisons, military units that reported most cases of violence.
In reply to A1+ why the Ombudsman did not visit opposition activists who were reportedly beaten up by police officers, Karen Andreasyan said, "We cannot intervene unless we receive an appeal. Of course we could visit them on our own initiative if they were left unprotected. The opposition activists could have applied to us, if they felt the need."
