Human Rights Defender sends quick response group to visit a detainee in Hrazdan

Office for Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia has sent a quick response group to Hrazdan Police Station after it was informed that a human rights activist has not been allowed to visit a citizen detained at the police station over drug use charges.

It comes after Chairman of Armenia's Helsinky Association Michael Danielyan informed the Office that they had been denied entry to visit Malinov Ishkhan, a citizen kept at the Hrazdan town's Police Station in Kotayk province.

According to RA HRD Office spokesperson Tsovinar Khachatryan, shorly after being informed about it the Armenia's Office of Human Rights Defender sent a quick respons group to Hrazdan Police Station.

"Our quick response group went to the police station, visited the person arrested who refused to speak without his mother or lawyer. The HRD Office's quick response group offered him to send them a written notification should he have any complaint in the future," she added.

Earlier on Wednesday Mr Danielyan, photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan and a reporter of the local Armenian daily Hraparak (Square) had attempted to visit Malinov Ishkhan after his mother Lusik Melkonyan had during a court hearing in Hrazdan's Court of First Instance told them that her son had on October 10 been taken to the police over drug use suspicions and had been severly beaten.

"She insisted that her son had for two days been illegally held in the police and beaten," photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan had told Tert.am, adding that a medical test had revealed that Malinov Ishkhan Valerionovich had not used drugs.