Human Rights Defender’s Office representatives visit the detained 18-year-old Davit

On April 2, at the instruction of the Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan, representatives of the Ombudsman’s staff visited the “Armavir” penitentiary institution to visit Davit Minasyan, who was detained in connection with the incident at the St. Anna Church.

During the visit, the Ombudsman’s representatives had a private conversation with the person deprived of his liberty, as well as examined the documents drawn up regarding him.

Some of the issues raised were discussed on the spot with the administration of the penitentiary institution and the staff of the “Center for Penitentiary Medicine” SNCO, including to ensure the proper organization of medical supervision.

Issues related to ensuring the right to education of a person were in the spotlight.

The Human Rights Defender attaches importance to ensuring the right to life and health of every person deprived of liberty, emphasizing that the state has a positive obligation to guarantee their safety and proper medical care, as well as the full realization of education and other fundamental rights.

Without addressing the issue of the legality of the use of detention in a specific case/cases and maintaining the prohibition of non-interference in the activities of the courts, the Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan has repeatedly emphasized the systemic problems of the practice of using detention as a preventive measure.

The Defender reaffirms her position that when choosing detention as a preventive measure, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the criteria related to the legality of its use, taking into account the fact that detention may be used only in cases where the use of alternative preventive measures is insufficient to ensure the escape of the accused, the commission of a crime by him or the fulfillment of the duties imposed on the accused.

Abuse of the institution of detention, in turn, can seriously damage trust in the entire chain of criminal justice and cause other systemic problems. The Defender’s representatives also met with other individuals at the “Armavir” Penitentiary Institution in order to address issues related to their rights.