Amnesty International Critical of Armenia

In its 2010 report on human rights violations human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that those guilty for encroachments upon human rights in Armenia have not been held accountable, freedom of rights has been limited, journalists have been attacked, the ban imposed in 2008 on the right to hold assemblies in the centre of the city has not been lifted and the measures to protect women's and girls' rights against violation do not meet international standards.

According to Radio Liberty the report also says that on June 19 the National Assembly of Armenia granted an amnesty to those arrested during the 2008 March1/2 events. The amnesty affected those who were not accused of violations, but only those who had been sentenced for 5 years. Those not affected by that amnesty, saw their sentences reduce twice.

In Impunity section the organization mentiones that 4 poilcemen were charged with using force against citizens on March 1, 2008. By the end of last year no independent investigations have been carried out to prove that the police has used force in 2008 events. In June 2008 a an ad hoc committee was created to investigate those events, but according to Amnesty International, it did not start its work, as the opposition refused participating in its activities.

Further the report draws attention to the closure of Michael Danielyan's case, a human rights defender (the former leader of Progressive Party of Armenia had opened fire on him), expressing its concerns that the the Prosecutrs Office ingnored some key witnesses' testimonies. Michael Danielyan appealed his case in 2008, but by the end of 2009 no decision had been made about his appeal.

In Freedom of Speech section the organization touches upon the case of Argishti Kiviryan - a journalist and lawyer beaten in Yerevan, saying that the cases of violations on journalist remain uninvestigated which contributes to the atmosphere of impunity.