Riot police and barbed wire block protestors from marching down Baghramyan Street in downtown Yerevan on July 30, 2016. (Photo: Giorgi Gogia/Human Rights Watch)
Protesters Face Long Sentences, but Violence Against Them Unpunished
BERLIN, Germany (Human Rights Watch)—The Armenian government failed to ensure meaningful and credible accountability for law enforcement officials responsible for excessive and disproportionate force against peaceful protesters, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in its World Report 2017.
In July 2016, the authorities used excessive force against peaceful protesters and assaulted journalists reporting on demonstrations in the capital, Yerevan. Authorities arbitrarily detained dozens of protest leaders and participants, pressing unjustified criminal charges against them and denying some of them basic rights of detainees.
“Six months later, we are still waiting for accountability for abuses committed by law enforcement during Yerevan’s July protests,â€
