Seven Inmates Declare Indefinite Hunger Strike at Sevan Penitentiary

Today, seven inmates serving sentences at the Republic of Armenia's Sevan Penitentiary have declared an indefinite hunger strike in support of another life inmate. Their plea for the transfer of this individual from a medium-security facility to a lower-security facility has been rejected by the distribution commission of the RA Ministry of Justice's penitentiary service.

The penitentiary service reports that the commission's decision has been appealed in court by the inmate; however, the appeals were dismissed by general jurisdiction and appellate courts, and the Court of Cassation has not accepted the case for consideration.

The inmates argue in their complaint that certain provisions of the new RA penitentiary code are either not functioning or functioning inadequately, particularly those related to the transfer of inmates to lower-security zones. They are, however, attempting to generalize the rejection of this one inmate's request to all life inmates, creating a misleading impression that the law is ineffective.

In response to the inmates' protest, it is noted that, as in all penitentiary institutions, transfers based on security zones at the Sevan facility are conducted properly and within the law. Specifically, during 2023, two life inmates were transferred from the more favorable conditions of the high-security zone to strict conditions of the medium-security zone, while three life inmates were moved from the more favorable conditions of the medium-security zone to strict conditions of the lower-security zone.

Currently, out of the 87 life inmates in the penitentiary facilities of the RA Ministry of Justice, two are serving their sentences in strict conditions within the high-security zone, 50 in more favorable conditions of the high-security zone, 14 in strict conditions of the medium-security zone, 16 in more favorable conditions of the medium-security zone, four in strict conditions of the lower-security zone, and one in more favorable conditions of the lower-security zone.

The softening of security conditions for life inmates indicates positive developments within the penitentiary system. This has also been noted by a delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment during their visits to Armenian penitentiary institutions in 2023, as reported by the penitentiary service.