Azerbaijan's ombudsman refutes reports of violations of the rights of Armenian convicts
As part of the Ombudsman's activities under the National Preventive Mechanism, meetings were held with persons of Armenian origin, including Ruben Vardanyan, at the facilities where they were held during the preliminary investigation, the court proceedings, as well as after their conviction and transfer to correctional institutions.
The state of protection of their rights, the conditions of their detention, and issues of treatment toward them were under constant monitoring.
These monitoring activities were conducted in accordance with international standards, and the state of protection of human rights and freedoms was constantly the focus of attention. During the visits conducted personally by me, as well as by members of the Ombudsman's National Preventive Group (NPG) without prior notice, these persons, including R. Vardanyan, had their rights explained to them in their native language, a doctor — a member of the NPG — checked their current state of health, and, at their request, relevant printed materials and legislative acts were provided to them in their native language. In addition, based on their requests, they were provided with numerous works of fiction in various languages.
It should be noted that each of these persons has the opportunity to contact the Ombudsman's "916" call center, and each of their appeals was responded to in a timely manner and in accordance with the law.
In the course of our successive visits, it has been recorded that the conditions of detention of the aforementioned convicts at the penitentiary institutions meet modern standards, that no discrimination whatsoever is permitted toward these convicts, and that their rights and freedoms enshrined in international documents and national legislation are ensured, including the rights to engage in sports, to take walks, and to have leisure activities organized. It should be noted that, despite the absence of funds in their accounts at the time of their transfer to correctional institutions, they were provided with telephone conversations with family members and access to information without restrictions.
We also noted that the requests of the aforementioned convicts related to notarial and medical services are satisfied in accordance with the legislation.
Most recently, Arayik Harutyunyan's request concerning notarial services was fulfilled, and since this coincided with the day of the visit, the provision of this service was recorded directly on the spot by members of the Ombudsman's National Preventive Group.
Along with this, matters were addressed relating to the appeals of these persons to the Ombudsman regarding additional medical examinations, additional telephone conversations with family members, as well as the successive appeals made by them and by their lawyers to state bodies.
Based on the results of the independent monitoring and visits conducted by the Ombudsman, I would like to note that the rights of the aforementioned persons, sentenced to punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty after it was proven in court that they had committed crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, as well as terrorism, the financing of terrorism, and other grave crimes, are ensured without any discrimination. In this regard, the claims put forward on internet sites on behalf of the aforementioned persons have no grounds whatsoever, do not reflect reality, and serve biased political purposes.
Source: Azərbaycan Respublikasının
İnsan Hüquqları üzrə MüvəkkiliOmbudsman
