(New York) - Armenia has yet to hold the police accountable for their
excessive use of force a year after a day of clashes with protesters that led to
at least 10 deaths, Human Rights Watch said in a comprehensive report on February 25.

The 64-page report, "Democracy on
Rocky Ground: Armenia's Disputed 2008 Presidential Election, Post-Election
Violence, and the One-Sided Pursuit of Accountability," details the
clashes between police and protesters in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, on March 1,
2008, in the wake of the disputed February 2008 presidential polls. It also
documents the ill-treatment of individuals detained in connection with the
violence, and lack of comprehensive investigation and accountability for
excessive use of force on March 1 and in its aftermath. The report is based on
more than 80 interviews carried out over three research missions in Armenia in
2008 and 2009.

"The full picture of what happened almost a year ago in Yerevan has yet to
emerge," said Giorgi Gogia, researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the
report. "This much is clear: at various times on March 1, security forces used
excessive force against demonstrators."

On March 1, 2008, police clashed with protesters in downtown Yerevan,
demonstrating against disputed results of the presidential election. In several
episodes in different parts of the city, police variously set upon protesters
without warning or resistance, negotiated, withdrew, and returned to the
offensive and finally fought a pitched battle with a small group of protesters.
As a result, at least 10 people died - eight protesters and two police officers
- and scores were injured.

While the Armenian authorities have investigated, prosecuted, and convicted
dozens of opposition members, sometimes in flawed and politically motivated
trials, in connection with the demonstration and violence, they have not
prosecuted a single representative of the law enforcement agencies for excessive
use of force.

Serj Sargsyan, the prime minister, was declared the winner of the February 19,
2008, presidential election over the opposition candidate, Levon Ter-Petrossian.
A group of protesters contending that Sargsyan's victory was the result of fraud
established a continuous protest on Yerevan's Freedom Square immediately after
the election, with daily rallies; some camped out overnight in tents set up on
the square.

Human Rights Watch research indicated that police used excessive force in a
pre-dawn raid on the tents on March 1, justified as a search for weapons. This
led to a much larger demonstration in front of the French Embassy in downtown
Yerevan. By evening, with a major, violent confrontation unfolding on the
streets of the capital, the outgoing president, Robert Kocharyan, declared a
20-day state of emergency during which public gatherings and strikes were banned
and media freedoms were significantly curtailed.

"The authorities' response to the March 1 events has been one-sided," said
Gogia. "The fact that police were themselves under attack at times by no means
excuses them for incidents when they used excessive force."

The report also documents ill-treatment of detainees and other violations of due
process rights following the March 1 events. Human Rights Watch spoke to people
who had been beaten during arrest, and assaulted, verbally abused, and
threatened while in police custody. Many detainees were denied the right to
inform their families of their whereabouts, and were refused access to lawyers
of their own choosing.

Human Rights Watch urged the government to investigate the use of police force
in the March 1 clashes, emphasizing that each distinct police action during the
day should be assessed separately. Where there was evidence that the use of
force went outside the boundaries of legitimate policing, all the perpetrators
(including those who gave the orders) should be prosecuted. Human Rights Watch
also urged an investigation into all allegations of ill-treatment of people
detained in connection with March 1 events, also leading to identification and
prosecution of those responsible.