"United Armenia" organization the Ombudsman's Office will not consider the complaint

A member of the public organization “United Armenia”, political figure Samvel Azizyan recently initiated a collection of signatures related to the use of violence and persecution by law enforcement agencies against opposition activists and, in particular, members of the organization “United Armenia”.

The collection of signatures was transferred to the office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Armenia and concerned the actions of the police during the protests that took place in Yerevan in 2023–2024. The appeal stated that during peaceful demonstrations, disproportionate physical force was used, arbitrary arrests were carried out, and targeted pressure was exerted on opposition figures.

Samvel Azizyan has actively participated in rallies against government policies in recent months, and, according to him, has experienced the consequences of these actions himself. According to a representative of the organization, in recent months they have been repeatedly summoned to the police and investigative authorities, subjected to interrogation, and in some cases to physical violence.

The signature collection text emphasized that some activists were held in police stations for several days without food, water or legal assistance. They were interrogated, forced to give false testimony about the head of the organization Vahan Kostanyan and sources of funding, and were also threatened with criminal prosecution.

However, the Ombudsman's office reported that the appeal was forwarded to the police, citing the fact that the issue was not within the scope of their powers. Samvel Azizyan expressed concern that the transfer of a complaint to the body against whose actions it was filed is at the very least absurd and, in his opinion, indicates the Ombudsman’s desire to please the authorities.

Let us remind you that recently a number of human rights organizations have also drawn attention to the unlawful actions of the police against protesters during political processes in Armenia, but at the moment to no avail.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to comment on the accusations voiced by members of the United Armenia organization, and also did not provide information about what measures would be taken on the complaint forwarded to them from the Ombudsman’s office.