MONITORING BOARD CALLS ARMENIAN PRISON CONDITIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001261

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL, INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2015
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV AM
SUBJECT: MONITORING BOARD CALLS ARMENIAN PRISON CONDITIONS
"UNSATISFACTORY"

REF: 04 YEREVAN 1792

Classified By: DCM A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Conditions in Armenian prisons remain
"unsatisfactory" despite some improvements, according to a
report by Armenia's Civil Society Monitoring Board (CSMB).
On June 30, CSMB members hosted a roundtable discussion where
they announced the results of inspections they conducted from
June through November 2004. Ministry of Justice Prisons
Department Head Samvel Hovannisian immediately derided
members for assertions that physical abuse, medical neglect,
and poor conditions remain problems in Armenian prisons.
Hovannisian dismissed many of the CSMB's recommendations as
financially unrealistic. The GOAM has no obligation to
implement CSMB recommendations. End Summary.

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PRISON CONDITIONS FALL SHORT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
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2. (SBU) In a June 30 roundtable event covered by news media,
members of the MOJ-accredited Civil Society Monitoring Board
(CSMB) released the CSMB's first report on prison conditions
in Armenia. According to CSMB Chairman Temik Khalapyan,
members completed more than 20 scheduled and unscheduled
prison visits from June 1 through November 5, 2004.
Khalapyan said that though the system improved over the
inspection period, prison conditions remained "horrible."
CSMB members described chronic problems including unsanitary
living conditions, denial of visitor privileges, medical
neglect and, in the most extreme cases, physical abuse. MOJ
Prisons Department Head Samvel Hovannisian, who participated
in the roundtable, said that insufficient funding to invest
in infrastructure remained the most pressing problem for the
GOAM.

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ESCAPEE BEATEN BY POLICE
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3. (U) Thirty-year-old Mher Yenokyan, convicted of murder and
imprisoned for life, escaped from a prison in Goris on
December 9, 2004. By late January 2005, police had captured
and transferred Yenokyan to maximum security Nubarashen
Penitentiary near Yerevan. During the roundtable, CSMB
member Mikael Abramyan claimed Yenokyan, whom he personally
visited, appeared in court "with appalling signs of abuse."
CSMB Chairman Khalapyan, who visited Yenokyan "a few days"
after the incident, claimed "it was obvious that Yenokyan was
tortured." In response to their accusations, MOJ Prisons
Department Head Samvel Hovannisian asserted to roundtable
participants and press covering the event that guards
believed Yenokyan was planning another escape and used
justified force to punish him and to obtain details about his
plans.


4. (C) Comment: In separate meetings after the roundtable,
Khalapyan and CSMB member Avetik Ishkanyan privately told us
that they believed the severity of abuse in the Yenokyan case
was uncommon. Khalapyan and Ishkanyan both claimed that
prisoners are more likely to suffer physical abuse in
pre-trial detention where, they asserted, law enforcement
officials force confessions. Neither member could
substantiate the claims, however, because the CSMB has been
unable to negotiate terms of access to inspect police
detention facilities. End Comment.

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CSMB RECOMMENDATIONS MIRROR EUROPEAN STANDARDS
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5. (SBU) CSMB recommendations largely echoed the April 2005
Helsinki Committee report on prisons in Armenia.
Recommendations included continued monitoring, training on
par with international standards for prison guards and
administrators, a standard mechanism for reporting human
rights violations, and enforcing humane treatment
conventions. The CSMB also recommended cost reduction
through prisoner participation in system improvements and
adherence to international minimum standards for physical
size, capacity, and furnishing of prison cells. CSMB members
claimed that legislative loopholes, including the absence of
a technical definition for torture, provided abusive law
enforcement authorities excuses to avoid responsibility.

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MOJ LIMITS ACCESS TO MONITORS
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6. (C) The CSMB and GOAM could not agree on terms of access
to pre-trial detention centers or police stations and, as a
result, the report is limited to prison inspections only.
Though it is clear that the CSMB actively monitored Armenian
prisons throughout the short reporting period, the MOJ is not
legally obligated, and does not appear fundamentally
motivated, to implement the CSMB's recommendations. MOJ
Prisons Department Head Samvel Hovannisian demonstrated
surprising disregard for basic prisoner rights and deflected
responsibility for the system's chronic infrastructure
problems. He claimed the CSMB and NGOs wasted foreign aid
that his department could have better utilized "to fix the
problem." The MOJ is drafting a response to the CSMB's
recommendations.
EVANS