Arman Babajanian Denied Visit to Inmate at Nubarashen Detention Facility

Independent Member of Parliament Arman Babajanian made a post on his Facebook page addressing Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan. He wrote: "I appeal to the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan to investigate and address the following issue within the scope of the Human Rights Defender's authority. I intended to visit an inmate at the Nubarashen detention facility in the coming days, but I was denied entry, citing that the authority conducting the proceedings—in this case, the court—did not permit it.

It should be noted that these public relations are regulated by law and not by individual acts or letters from the authority conducting the proceedings. In particular, Article 48, Part 1, Point 1 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Detention of Arrested and Incarcerated Persons stipulates that without special authorization, the following individuals have the right to freely enter and exit places of detention: the President of the Republic of Armenia, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia, the President of the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia, a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, the head of the authorized state management body, or their appropriate deputy.

The aforementioned public relations have no relation to the public relations regulated by Article 15 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Detention of Arrested and Incarcerated Persons, which governs visits with defense attorneys, close relatives, and other individuals. The latter provision requires permission from the conducting authority since these individuals have a vested interest in the outcome of the case and may thereby influence it. In contrast, members of parliament and other subjects authorized by normative legal acts to enter places of detention without special permission are not parties with a direct or indirect interest in the outcomes of the case; they are individuals exercising their rights or fulfilling their duties as prescribed by the Constitution or other laws," the MP wrote.