Ombudsman's Rapid Response Teams Visit 8 Police Stations

Today, the rapid response teams of the Ombudsman's office visited a total of 8 police stations in Yerevan, providing consultation and support for the realization of rights to more than 125 individuals. This was stated in a press release from the RA Human Rights Defender.

The Ombudsman's rapid response team visited the police station in Sevan, Gegharkunik province, where 8 individuals had been detained, and overall provided consultation to more than 10 individuals in the Gegharkunik region.

As a result of today's rapid response visits, in addition to the gross violations of procedures related to administrative detention that have become a stable practice by the Police, the Ombudsman's rapid response teams also recorded several other condemnable incidents and violations. In particular, there were widespread incidents of police officers engaging in disputes with protesters and displaying blatant disrespect towards citizens during these interactions. Such behavior can never be acceptable for a police officer, who is constrained by his civil service status and is obligated to refrain from engaging in disputes with participants of a gathering and avoiding inappropriate tones and styles of communication that do not stem from his status as a service member, or more severely, initiating such 'conversations' himself.

Today, more than on previous days, there were evident incidents of the use of disproportionate force when detaining citizens, sometimes manifesting in dragging citizens into a vehicle, inflicting bodily injuries (with two individuals reported to have sustained fractures), twisting people's arms without reasonable grounds for detention, and pushing individuals' heads downwards.

During the visits conducted by the rapid response teams, nearly all individuals expressed dissatisfaction with the blatant brutal and aggressive use of disproportionate force by the Police Forces (officers in black uniforms). Specifically, one citizen reported during a private conversation that police had kicked him in the abdomen during his detention. This information was also confirmed by other individuals detained from the same location.

Particularly concerning are the attempts to detain ARF MPs on May 2, 2022, one of whom was detained but was released near the station. The Ombudsman emphasizes that an MP is endowed with a special constitutional legal status, and they can only be deprived of their freedom through a specialized legal procedure stipulated by law. Therefore, in all cases where a police officer is aware of an individual's status as a member of parliament, he must refrain from attempting to detain them.

During the visits, cases were also raised where individuals not participating in protests were detained. Some of those detained claimed that although they were in the vicinity for observation purposes, they did not participate in the actual gathering. From this perspective, the non-discriminatory approach of the police's actions is problematic.

Additionally, there were reported cases where individuals were detained on the basis of not complying with a police officer’s lawful demand, even after fulfilling that demand. Specifically, there were cases of detaining people after they had opened roads as requested by the police.

The Ombudsman notes that detention based on non-compliance with a police officer's lawful demand is fundamentally illegal and unacceptable in these situations. The police must refrain from detaining individuals who have already complied with requests made without any grounds or justifications.

The Ombudsman's ongoing monitoring has highlighted several instances where participants in the protests exhibited offensive behavior towards an officer, and in one case, an officer sustained injuries. The Ombudsman again reminds the police that police officers must be in uniform, and identifying features must be clearly visible on their uniforms, including at least their name and surname. Citizens must be able to recognize or identify any police officer who approaches or detains them. During today’s monitoring and discussions with individuals, cases were also reported of plainclothes officers being involved. According to citizens' claims, these officers act more aggressively and without restraint. The Ombudsman insists on excluding the participation of officers in attire that does not allow for identification.