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May 18, 2007

Agvan G. Hovsepyan

RA Prosecutor General

5, V. Sargsyan,

0010, Yerevan,

Republic of Armenia

Dear Mr. Hovsepyan,

Human Rights Watch is writing to express its concern about the recent death of
31-year old Levon Gulyan, who died while in the custody of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs in Yerevan on May 12. Ministry of Internal Affairs officials
had been questioning Mr. Gulyan that day and on previous days regarding the
killing of Stephan Vardayan. Witnesses have told Human Rights Watch that Mr.
Gulyan’s corpse bore bruises and other signs of ill-treatment. We call on you to
ensure a full and completely independent investigation into Mr. Gulyan’s
suspicious death in custody and into allegations that his death may have been
caused by police officials.

At approximately 5:00p.m. on May 12, Ministry of Internal Affairs officials
informed Levon Gulyan’s family that he had died while in the custody of the
ministry after jumping from a second story window. Ministry officials claimed
that when officials stepped out of the interrogation room to get water for Mr.
Gulyan, he tried to escape from the room by climbing out of window and
descending to the second floor window, or had decided to commit suicide. Mr.
Gulyan had gone to the ministry voluntarily that afternoon to answer questions
regarding Vardayan’s killing.

On May 9, Mr. Gulyan, owner of the “Pandok” restaurant, witnessed a fight
between several individuals, which ended in the shooting of Stephan Vardanyan
across the street from the restaurant. Mr. Vardanyan died as a result of the
shooting. Soon after the shooting, at 3a.m. on May 10, Mr. Gulyan and Mr. Hayk
Melkumyan, one of the restaurant’s employees, were detained by local police and
questioned as witnesses to the murder. A second employee was questioned later
that day. Mr. Gulyan was held until 10:30p.m. on May 10 and allowed to go home
on the condition that he report to the police station again the next day at
10am. He was held from that time until 11a.m. on May 12, allowed to leave to
participate in the parliamentary elections, and then returned voluntarily to the
police station two hours later. When he returned to the police station, he was
driven to the main building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Mr. Hayk Melkumyan told Human Rights Watch that he had been beaten by local
police during questioning about the murder. Mr. Gulyan told him, when they saw
each other in custody on May 12, that he believed that everything was all right
and that they would be released.

One of the lawyers initially representing Mr. Gulyan’s family saw the body a few
hours after the death and saw bruises and evidence of ill-treatment.

We are aware that the prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation under
Article 110 of the Criminal Code, “Forcible suicide.” While we welcome the
initiation of a criminal investigation, the circumstances of the case give rise
to concerns that the investigation to date does not meet international standards
for deaths in custody, and that officials may be responsible for a graver crime
in relation to Mr. Gulyan’s death. We urge you to ensure that your office
conducts a full, independent, and transparent investigation into the
circumstance surrounding Mr. Gulyan’s death capable of identifying and punishing
those found to be responsible to the full extent of the law. We would recall
that Armenia is bound by the obligations under Article 2 of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to provide a complete and plausible
explanation for any death in custody, based on a thorough and independent
investigation which establishes the extent of the liability of the authorities
in whose custody the deceased was when he died. Failure to carry out such an
investigation and to pursue any appropriate prosecutions of those responsible
would bring Armenia in violation of its obligations under the ECHR.

We also encourage you to take the necessary steps to ensure the rights of Mr.
Gulyan’s family are respected. They have a right to participate in and have
access to the investigation and to be represented to ensure that their interests
are safeguarded. We are aware that officials only informed Mr. Gulyan’s
relatives of his death at least three hours after it happened, making them
unable to be present for or appoint counsel to witness the initial examination
of his body. The United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and
Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions state that “the
family of the deceased shall have the right to insist that a medical or other
qualified representative be present at the autopsy.” We are aware that
international medical experts have arrived in Yerevan and Mr. Gulyan’s relatives
are seeking access for these experts to participate in an autopsy performed on
Mr. Gulyan’s body. We sincerely hope that the prosecutor’s office can
accommodate the participation of these experts in the autopsy and the
investigation as part of a full, independent, and transparent investigation.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.

Sincerely,

Holly Cartner

Executive Director

Europe and Central Asia Division

cc:

Hayk Harutyunyan, Chief of Internal Affairs, Armenia

Vladimir Pryakhin, Ambassador of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Armenia

Anthony F. Godfrey, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires, U.S. Embassy
to Armenia

Dr. Heike Renate Peitsch, German Ambassador to Armenia