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Armenian Rights Activists Justify Life-Termers' Hunger Strike

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  • Armenian Rights Activists Justify Life-Termers' Hunger Strike

    ARMENIAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS JUSTIFY LIFE-TERMERS' HUNGER STRIKE

    11:21 * 01.07.14

    The hunger-strike declared by 29 life-termers as a sign of protest
    for not being released on parole is considered a justified measure
    by human rights activists in Armenia.

    Speaking to Tert.am, Artur Sakunts, the chairman of the Helsinki
    Citizens' Assembly's Vanadzor Office, described the state policies in
    the justice sector as punitive rather than integration-oriented. "And
    that necessitates a clarification of standards and approaches with
    regard premature release. On the other hand, they are not willing to
    make them clear in an effort to prevent people from appealing [cases].

    And besides, it creates a breeding ground for corruption," he
    explained.

    Expressing his support to the protesting inmates, Sakunts added, "A
    convict must not, of course, violate the penitentiary institution's
    rules of discipline, but our studies reveal that the internal appeal
    mechanisms do not work, as people avoid filing a complaint. I can
    even say with certainty that the disciplinary measures have suspicious
    justifications."

    Commenting on the problem, Chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Committee
    Avetik Iskhanyanremembered that no cases of life-termers were revised
    in Armenia after the country abolished the death penalty in 2003.

    Iskhkanyan said he knows that life-termers, whose number tops a
    hundred in Armenia, remain ignored by the authorities. "Their demands
    are old demands, and the complaints are justified," he noted.

    Asked why the mechanism does not work after all, the activist replied,
    "On the one hand, a convict in our reality is considered a criminal
    both by the authorities and the society, so the human attitude to
    premature release is not [properly] understood by the society. The
    attitude to life-termers is even crueler, as they [the society]
    immediately begin thinking of a monster upon hearing the word, without
    delving deeper into the case," he said, citing political motives as
    the third reason.

    Armenian News - Tert.am

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