Live discussion: Violations of rights of civilians detained during July crisis (video)
At 12.00, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, in cooperation with the Public Journalism Club and the Media Center, is hosting a discussion titled Violations of the Rights of Civilians Detained During the July Crisis. Armenian and international human rights experts and representatives of the responsible state bodies will debate the actions of the law enforcement agencies and the courts against civilians arrested during the July events, some of whom are till in detention. Large-scale protests broke out in Yerevan after an armed group coordinated by several Karabakh war veterans captured a police station in the city´s Erebuni district on July 17 demanding the release of their leader Zhirayr Sefilian and the resignation of Armenia´s president Serzh Sargsyan. This led to a two-week standoff. People who gathered in support of the gunmen called on the police to refrain from drastic actions. Ultimately, the police dispersed the protesters on July 29, arresting hundreds of them in the process. Dozens of civilians, including journalists, were injured during the heavy-handed police action. Two months later, some of these civilians are still in prison because of criminal charges against them for inciting unrest. In some cases, the court has ruled to extend their pre-trial detention for another two months for further investigation. IWPR covered the July crisis extensively (See Hostage Crisis Continues in Armenia, https://goo.gl/ekdDMW; Yerevan Crisis in Pictures, https://goo.gl/aGiJ2z; Making Sense of Armenia´s Crisis, https://goo.gl/uwpJzK). The discussion aims to raise public awareness about the legal actions initiated against the detainees by presenting the views of local and international human rights defenders. The speakers of the discussion are: - Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus Director at Human Rights Watch (Tbilisi, Georgia) - Araik Papikyan, Lawyer, Helsinki Association for Human Rights in Armenia - Haykuhi Harutyunyan, President of Protection of Rights Without Borders NGO - Daniel Ionesyan, program's coordinator of Association of Informed Citizens Union The event will take place at 12:00 on Friday, September 30, at the Media Center, 30 Saryan Street (2nd floor), in Yerevan. For additional information, please contact IWPR´s Armenia office at + 374 10 58 48 99 or the Public Journalism Club at +37460 505898. This event is part of IWPR’s Strengthening Capacities, Bridging Divides — Reducing Tensions Across the South Caucasus project, supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ABOUT IWPR IWPR strengthens local media at the frontlines of conflict and change, working in two dozen countries and territories around the world. This includes establishing independent local media; training local reporters, editors and producers; supporting extensive in-depth reporting on human rights, good governance and related issues; disseminating professional reporting in developing countries and internationally; and strengthening communications capacity of local human rights, international justice and women’s organisations.
