Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, yesterday again urged the Armenian authorities to free all opposition members remaining in prison and properly investigate the March 2008 unrest in Yerevan. In a report on his fact-finding visit to Armenia last January, Hammarberg said he remains concerned about the fate of the jailed loyalists of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan who were imprisoned in 2008. He praised the authorities for releasing three of these oppositionists after his trip. Expressing alarm over the attacks and pressure on journalists that have taken place in the past two years, the Commissioner calls upon the country’s leadership to firmly condemn such incidents and to take measures to prevent their recurrence. The implementation in practice of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Armenia also remains a source of concern. "Unlawful and disproportionate impediments on peaceful assemblies, such as intimidation and arrest of participants, disruption of transportation means and blanket prohibitions against assemblies in certain places, should be immediately discontinued. It is crucial that the behavior and actions of police forces during assemblies abide by human rights standards." He reiterated his view that the use of force against the protesters demanding a rerun of a disputed presidential election was “excessive” and that the official investigation into the ten unrest deaths “has not been effective” so far. “None of the perpetrators have been identified to date,” argued the Council of Europe official. “Command responsibility of senior officials within the police and the security services appears not to have been seriously considered.” “The Armenian authorities should pursue vigorously these investigations and bring all those responsible to account. The families of the ten victims should receive adequate compensation for the loss of their relatives and should be fully associated to and informed about the investigation,” he said.
