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On November 20 on the initiative of the RA National Assembly Committees on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs and on European Integration parliamentary hearings on “On the Situation of Human Rights in the RA Criminal-Executive Institutions and in the Places for Holding Arrested Persons by the Police” were held.

Presenting the necessity of convening parliamentary hearings the Chairperson of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration Naira Zohrabyan noted that it was not a secret that they referred to the conditions of the persons being held in Armenia ’s criminal-executive institutions not positively in the reports of different international organizations. She said that the representatives of the NA two committees had recently been in different criminal-executive institutions, got acquainted with the conditions on the spot, recorded the problems, which could result in legislative amendments. The committees had also received proposals in written form on the problem from the concerned NGOs.

Talking about their two visits paid to criminal-executive institutions, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs Elinar Vardanyan noticed that it was not enough for getting acquainted with all the details of the situation, and they highlighted the findings of monitoring of the NGO representatives. In her word, there are also positive changes in the criminal-executive institutions, particularly, the library, canteen conditions have been improved.

The RA Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan detailed more the problems of Armenia ’s criminal-executive institutions. Touching upon the self-mutilations in prisons, Hrayr Tovmasyan assured that every case was studied, and they focused on their reasons.

The RA Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan presented the data of the Human Rights Defender Office on the situation in the criminal-executive institutions. He also touched upon self-mutilation cases, noting that they were mainly as a consequence of social problems. According to Karen Andreasyan, there are extremely hard problems and corruption phenomena in the criminal-executive institutions.

The Head of the Observation Group Implementing Public Oversight in the C riminal-Executive Institutions and Bodies of the RA Ministry of Justice Artur Sakunts presented the results to the participants of the parliamentary hearings. And the Head of Public Observation Group Implementing Oversight Suren Iskandaryan introduced those present the situation in the Places for Holding Arrested Persons by the RA Police.

In their speeches the participants of the parliamentary hearings highlighted this initiative launched by NA Standing Committees on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs and on European Integration, expressing conviction that with such steps taken in the system the situation gradually could change to better. The organizers of the hearings in their turn promised those present to make such meetings regular and call into life the voiced proposals.