On 26 June, Civil Society Institute (CSI) and Foundation Against Violation of Law
(FAVL) NGOs organized a number of events to commemorate the United Nations’
International Day of Support to Victims of Torture.

The organizations disseminated a
joint announcement stating that the ineffective investigation and
impunity have remained as a serious problem in cases of torture.

A conference “Fighting impunity-2014” was organized at the
initiative of CSI and FAVL in Yerevan to raise the issue of prohibition of
torture and discuss possibilities and mechanisms of torture prevention and
cooperation among state and non-state bodies in providing assistance to victims
of torture.

“The issue of struggle against
torture has been raised mainly only at the level of statements. The statistics
demonstrates that the number of registered cases of torture has increased, but
the number of court appeals and the number of officials called to
responsibility for use of torture has decreased”, said Arman Danielyan,
President of Civil Society Institute in his opening speech.

According to him, torture is widespread in the police and is
used as a method to extort evidence. He outlined the reasons of this
phenomenon: low level of professionalism of the police, lack of knowledge on
technics of obtaining evidence by other means, and lastly, lack of public perception
of torture as crime.

“We will not have professional police until torture is
stopped to be used as an easy means to extort evidence. In addition, the courts’
indifference towards statements on torture is alarming”, said A.Danielyan.

Larisa Alaverdyan,
Executive director of Foundation Against Violation of Law NGO, emphasized that the government’ struggle against torture
is insufficient, that the society does not see the results of this struggle, and
those who apply torture escape punishment, which creates an atmosphere of
impunity. “We live in the 21^st century. We need to abandon this
method at the state level and punish those, who continue the practice”, she said.

Larisa Alaverdyan also mentioned
the existing legislative gap, saying that our Criminal Code does not reflect
the UN Convention against torture, and for years, the term “torture” has not
been brought into compliance with the requirements of the Convention.

“The European Court of Human
Rights defines six types of torture, inhuman and cruel behavior, and we can be
directed by these definitions, we do not have to invent a bicycle”, says Mrs.
Alaverdyan.

The conference was organized
with support of the RA Ombudsman’s Office. Yeranuhi Toumanyants, Head of
Torture Prevention Department at the Office, noted that the victims of torture
often appeal to them too late, when it is not possible to do anything about it.

“It is important that the victims
appeal to us as soon as possible, because the time in this case works against
the victims.” Y. Toumanyants suggested that the investigation rooms be equipped
with recording video cameras and the police provided with other technical
means. She also emphasized importance of moral compensation and rehabilitation
of victims, which is not ensured by our law. 

Participants from the RA Police, Military Police,
Prosecutor’s office, Special Investigation Service, Ministry of Justice, Court
Department, Bar Association and other interested bodies expressed their
opinions on torture and came up with short reports on current activities aimed
at torture prevention and detection of torture cases.

In the evening, E.V.A Rock Band, Vahag Rush, Gigabeat, Ajdin Davoudi and others performed in an open-air rock
concert “Rock Against Torture” at the Aznavour square.

Before the concert’s start at the square, Civil Society
Institute invited passerby to participate in a game testing awareness on rights
of persons who are brought to the police. Those participants, who gave correct
responses on 10 out of 12 questions, received T-shirts from Foundation Against Violation
of Law and Civil Society Institute NGOs.

Photos by CSI