Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04YEREVAN1792
2004-08-13 10:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

CIVIL MONITORING BOARD BEGINS PRISON VISITS

Tags:  PHUM PGOV AM 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001792 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV AM
SUBJECT: CIVIL MONITORING BOARD BEGINS PRISON VISITS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001792

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV AM
SUBJECT: CIVIL MONITORING BOARD BEGINS PRISON VISITS


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


2. (SBU) In 2002, Armenia's National Assembly passed
legislation creating a civilian board to monitor prison
and police detention facilities and to subsequently
issue a public report annually. The Civil Society
Monitoring Board (CSMB) finally began investigating
prison conditions in Armenia in June. The Board's
initial prison visits noted poor conditions. The CSMB
plans to expand monitoring in the future, but it must
still negotiate terms of access to prisons with police
prison authorities. The CSMB has no authority to
insist on changes to prison policy, and must rely
instead on its ombudsman role to advocate for change.
End Summary.

--------------
MONITORING BOARD
--------------


3. (SBU) The Ministry of Justice accredited the eleven
members of the Civil Society Monitoring Board in June,
authorizing them to inspect prisons in Armenia without
first notifying the Ministry. This was the first step
in implementing a 2002 law requiring the GOAM to
establish a civilian board to report on conditions in
prisons and police detention facilities. The Board's
members include representatives from ten Armenian NGOs
and an Armenian Orthodox priest. The Board met weekly
for the past three months in anticipation of
accreditation, has established a clear decision-making
structure, and is currently organizing its monitoring
tasks and its relations with the Ministry of Justice.
NGOs have monitored Armenian prisons in the past, but
Post has no knowledge of any similar attempt to fulfill
the mandate of the 2002 law in such a comprehensive and
systematic manner. The OSCE facilitated the Board's
formation and assists with ongoing training. According
to Mikael Aramyan, one of the Board members, the Board
plans to recruit and train monitors nationwide
beginning this fall.

--------------
CONDITIONS IN DETENTION
--------------


4. (SBU) According to Board members, conditions in
Armenian prisons remain poor. After three initial
visits, they reported that some prisoners were able to
purchase a few comforts, but the general prison
population suffered under various forms of neglect.
Most cells did not have toilets or running water, and
prisoners did not have regular access to recreation or
educational facilities. Board members also noted that
prisoners in pre-trial detention had difficulty
communicating with the outside world and were not
allowed visits by their families or lawyers in the
first three days of detention. According to CSMB
members, conflicting regulations within the detention
facilities created difficulties for prisoners wishing
to mail letters, and visitors wishing to see family
members faced long waits and irregular visitation
hours. Monitors reported that prison medical
facilities were severely under-staffed, under-supplied
and under-equipped. Monitoring teams did not report
the presence of widespread illness. An OSCE observer
who accompanied the CSMB on one prison visit reported
that a prison warden cited insufficient funding as the
reason for poor conditions. The OSCE observer noted,
however, that prison staff did not implement cost-free
solutions such as posting a visitation schedule or
regularly bringing water to all prisoners. According
to Board members, some prisoners reported that police
had beaten them while in pre-trial detention, a
systemic problem described by several human rights
organizations over the years.

--------------
WHERE NEXT?
--------------


5. (SBU) The CSMB plans to visit all 13 of Armenia's
prisons during the next year, issue its findings to the
Ministry of Justice and the press simultaneously, and
expand its efforts to include monitoring police
detention centers. They will face several significant
challenges. The group has no source of funding and has
refused a GOAM offer to supply office space in the
Ministry of Justice because members of the group fear
compromising the Board's independence. The CSMB still
has to negotiate with the police to establish
conditions under which it may monitor police detention
facilities.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (SBU) OSCE staffers who have helped develop the CSMB
told us that members of the group are determined, but
still unsure of themselves. Under the law, the Board
has considerable rights to inspect and report on prison
conditions, but CSMB members do not actively assert
these rights. They similarly lack confidence in
negotiations with the national police, even though the
law states the police must allow inspections. An OSCE
member who has trained the CSMB and similar groups in
the CIS told us that the CSMB has so far proven more
cohesive and independent than monitoring boards in
either Georgia or Azerbaijan, but it is too early to
determine if the Board will live up to its potential.
GODFREY