Artur Osipyans Refusal to Meet with Human Rights Defender Representatives

The Human Rights Defender, Anahit Manasyan, has commissioned representatives of the Defender to visit the place where those detained by the Armenian Police are held, with the aim of meeting with Artur Osipyan and examining the situation regarding the protection of his rights on-site. Artur Osipyan had been detained the previous day following an incident during the election campaign in the Arabkir administrative district.

Osipyan refused to have a private conversation with the representatives of the Human Rights Defender and did not provide details regarding issues related to his rights. Nevertheless, considering that the inquiry was initiated by the Human Rights Defender’s initiative, public information related to the matter, as well as the documents prepared regarding A. Osipyan, and the state of rights protection at the place of deprivation of liberty have been examined.

Clarifications are also required from the competent state bodies regarding the grounds for initiating criminal proceedings and for depriving him of his liberty.

The Human Rights Defender emphasizes the need for law enforcement agencies to conduct their activities and public communication in a particularly sensitive manner during the pre-election campaign to eliminate any public perception that legal tools could be used against or in favor of any political force or actor, or that these tools could serve as means of pressure on various actors during pre-election processes. Furthermore, legal accountability procedures should be implemented with a unified logic, excluding selectivity and the minimum impression of ‘arbitrary justice’.

Given that the discussion pertains to the deprivation of an individual's liberty and the application of criminal liability tools during the pre-election campaign, the Human Rights Defender demands that law enforcement provide adequate public communication regarding the legal and factual grounds for the deprivation of liberty, adhering to the aforementioned standards. Moreover, in any case where such grounds are absent or have ceased to exist, the individual should be released immediately.

The staff of the Human Rights Defender continues to monitor issues related to human rights in electoral processes within the framework of the Defender's mandate and carries out functions relevant to the Defender's mandate.