Assailants Target Opposition Activists, Observers and Journalists

(New York, February 22, 2008) – The Armenian government should investigate
alleged assaults on election observers and journalists that marred the
presidential election on February 19, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today.
According to victim testimonies taken by Human Rights Watch, assailants beat and
threatened opposition party activists, domestic observers, and journalists who
attempted to document election fraud at polling stations during the presidential
vote.

“These election-day attacks targeted the very people trying to ensure the
integrity of Armenia’s vote,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. “The Armenian government should carry out
independent and speedy investigations to ensure justice is served and to send
the message that intimidation won’t be tolerated.”

On February 20, the Central Election Commission declared Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsian the winner of the elections with 52.8 percent of the vote. Sargsian had
the backing of current president Robert Kocharian. Armenia’s first president
Levon Ter-Petrosian was the main opposition challenger and won 21.5 percent,
according to official tallies.

In nine cases documented by Human Rights Watch, assailants intimidated,
threatened, and even violently attacked opposition party activists, domestic
observers and journalists at eight polling stations in and around the capital,
Yerevan. Victims variously described their assailants as “big guys,” “athletic,”
“tough,” and apparently supporters of Sargsian. Most victims had been attempting
to expose what they believed to be violations of electoral rules, such as
incorrect voters’ lists, intimidation of voters, violations of the right to a
secret ballot, and ballot-box stuffing. None of the victims was able or willing
to return to the polling station to continue observing the voting.

In several incidents, the assaults took place in the presence of police and
polling station officials who did not intervene, and in one case a police
officer appeared to assist the assailants. Some victims reported the attacks to
police, who are investigating.

Human Rights Watch called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) to look into election-related violence and ensure that its final
report on the vote records these incidents.

In one case documented by Human Rights Watch, assailants grabbed a Ter-Petrosian
proxy (a candidate’s authorized representative) at a polling station in Yerevan,
forced her into a car and drove her to a remote area. There, they beat her in
the head and face, threatened to rape her and attack her family, and abandoned
her. She eventually made her way to a police station where she filed a
complaint. She is still suffering from headaches and other medical repercussions
of the attack.

At least three journalists were attacked. Lusine Barsegian of the newspaper
Haikakan Zhamankak was beaten, and had her camera and voice recorder stolen,
when she attempted to document what she believed to be intimidation of voters at
a polling station in Yerevan’s Erebuni district. A cameraman from the
independent A1+ television station was beaten and had his camera taken at the
same polling station. Two domestic election observers, Armen Matirosian, a
member of parliament from the opposition Heritage party, and Zarui Postandjian,
an observer from a nongovernmental organization, were also attacked at this
polling station after they tried to raise alleged election violations with
polling station officials.

The OSCE election monitors stated that the elections were held “mostly in line”
with international commitments.

Tens of thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters took to the streets in downtown
Yerevan on February 20 and 21 to protest the outcome of the elections and what
they believe to be widespread electoral fraud.

“The Armenian authorities should ensure that no harm is done to peaceful
demonstrators,” said Cartner. “Armenia claims to be a democratic country, and
that means allowing people to exercise their right to freedom of assembly.”

Armenia has a history of flawed elections and harassment of opposition parties.
In March 2003, Human Rights Watch documented widespread ballot stuffing and
intimidation during Armenia’s presidential election runoff. Human Rights Watch
documented mass arrests of opposition supporters, violent dispersals of
demonstrations, and raids on opposition party headquarters in April 2004. The
protests derived from the government’s failure to address the many violations of
electoral rules documented in the 2003 presidential election.

Details of Assaults

Yerevan

Polling station 13/16

Lusine Barsegian, a journalist for Haikakan Zhamankak told Human Rights Watch
she went to polling station 13/16 in the Erebuni district of Yerevan at
approximately 2 p.m. on February 19. When she arrived, she saw that the polling
station was very overcrowded. Some unidentified people were talking to voters in
what she believed to be an attempt to influence their votes, and other people
were observing the voters closely as they cast their ballots. Barsegian
attempted to interview the central election commission representative
responsible for the polling station about the apparent violations. At that
point, policemen and a few unidentified men forced her out of the polling
station. Barsegian protested, saying, “I have the right to be here. I have the
right to take photographs.”

With the assistance of Armen Matirosian, a member of parliament from the
Heritage party, who was an authorized election observer, Barsegian again entered
to the polling station. When she again attempted to take photographs, an
unidentified man in plainclothes kicked her in the stomach and grabbed her
camera and voice recorder. Other men also punched and kicked Matirosian.
According to Barsegian, police stood by and did not intervene. After this
attack, Barsegian and Matirosian fled the station and filed a complaint with the
prosecutor’s office.

When Zarui Postandjian, an observer from the nongovernmental organization
Against State Violence, heard about the incident, she went to polling station
13/16. Upon arriving, she saw a severely overcrowded polling station and police
and unidentified people observing voters as they marked their ballots.
Postandjian has stated that she tried to take photos of the polling station when
a policeman came up from behind her and hit her. At the same time, an
unidentified man tried to grab her camera, and both he and the policeman punched
her. Another observer came to assist her, and they both fled. Postandjian did
not return to the polling station. Postandjian filed a complaint with the
prosecutor’s office, which opened a criminal investigation.

Arabkir district

Reuben Armanian, a proxy for Ter-Petrosian, went to polling station 4/26 in
Arabkir at approximately 7:30 p.m. to replace some of his colleagues who had
been observing the conduct of the voting during the day. He told Human Rights
Watch that when he arrived, a group of 40 to 50 athletic-looking men were
standing in and near the polling station. Approximately 10 of these men attacked
Armanian, punching him on the head and body. “What could I do but look for a way
to escape them?” Armanian told Human Rights Watch. “I ran 10-20 meters and no
one followed me. But I couldn’t return to the polling station because these guys
were still there.” Photos, obtained by Human Rights Watch, of Armanian two days
after the attack show him with a severely black and swollen right eye.

Human Rights Watch also received reports that at least two other proxies and
observers were attacked at polling stations in Arabkir. One victim was too
afraid to speak to Human Rights Watch out of fear of repercussions.

Kentron district


Hovsep Hovsepian, a cameraman with the independent A1+ television station heard
about election violations at polling station 9/6 in the Kentron district of
Yerevan. Hovsepian told Human Rights Watch that when he got out of his car at
the polling station, a large group of unidentified men who had gathered outside
the polling station attacked him and attempted to take his camera. When
Hovsepian resisted, one of the men kicked him in the stomach and grabbed the
camera. The assailants took the video cassette out of the camera, smashed it,
and prepared to destroy the camera as well. At that moment, the driver of the
car came out and the men began to attack him instead. Hovsepian and the driver
broke free of the attackers, returned to the car and left the polling station.

Unidentified district #1

An opposition party proxy who did not want to be identified out of concerns for
his safety told Human Rights Watch that at a polling station in one Yerevan
district he saw violations of election regulations and asked that the election
commission officials respond. After a few minutes, a group of 15 to 20 people
attacked him, punching and kicking him until he lost consciousness. He was then
taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He suffered broken ribs and pain in his
kidneys as a result of the beating.

Unidentified district #2

One Ter-Petrosian supporter who asked not to be identified also described to
Human Rights Watch how assailants removed him from a polling station, forced him
into a car and drove him away. At a location unknown to the victim, a large
group of men beat him severely in the head and body, saying that they were
beating him because of his support of the opposition. As a result, the victim
suffered several broken ribs.

Abovian, about 20 kilometers from Yerevan


Larissa Tadevosian, a proxy for Ter-Petrosian, has told Human Rights Watch that
she went to polling station 28/7 in Abovian at approximately 7:30 a.m. Three
large, athletic men approached her, and two of them dragged her out of the
polling station. Tadevosian struggled to free herself, but was dragged across
the yard and shoved into a car. The three men drove Tadevosian to a deserted
area outside the town. After taking her out of the car, one man beat her on the
head and face. “They told me that I should be silent and not say anything more
about the elections,” she told Human Rights Watch. “They threatened to rape me.
They threatened to harm my family.” The men then left Tadevosian in the deserted
area and drove away.

Tadevosian was unable to return to the polling station because of her condition.
She went directly to the police, who ordered a forensic medical examination. Two
days after the attack, she complained of headaches, dizziness, and other medical
problems.

Gurgen Eghizarian, a proxy for Ter-Petrosian and a former deputy head of the
National Security Service, received information that election observers at
polling station 28/6 in Abovian had been kidnapped and beaten. He has stated
that he went to the polling station together with Erjan Abgarian, a 68-year-old
Ter-Petrosian proxy and former head of the customs service. Election commission
representatives and observers there denied that they had seen anything happen to
the observers, but Eghizarian demanded that the senior election commission
representative sign a statement about what had happened. While at the polling
station, a group of seven or eight men armed with pistols attacked Eghizarian,
his son, and Abgarian, beating them on the kidneys, ribs, and back. Eghizarian
told Human Rights Watch that the men also threatened him and the others saying,
“Sargsian will be president, and if you go against him, you will be killed.” He
suffers headaches and has a bruise on his forehead as a result of the assault.

A senior official for Ter-Petrosian told Human Rights Watch that at least three
other proxies were beaten in Abovian on election day.

Another Ter-Petrosian proxy who wished to remain anonymous told Human Rights
Watch that large, athletic men would arrive periodically at another polling
station in Abovian and would take prospective voters aside “for a little chat,”
apparently in order to influence their votes. These same men also spoke to
election commission officials, observers, and candidates’ proxies, and
threatened them should they speak out about any violations. This same proxy told
Human Rights Watch that in mid-afternoon some men took him aside and threatened
him and told him, “You didn’t see anything.” He claimed that these men were
responsible for stealing and falsifying ballots and stuffing the ballot box at
this polling station. Police stood by and did not respond. This proxy stated
that he continued to fear for his safety and had sent his children to another
location and was reluctant to leave his own apartment.