Human Rights Watch Reports on Violations In Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Human Rights Watch, a respectable and prominent non-governmental organization, issued last week its annual report that documented human rights violations during 2017 in more than 90 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Armenia
Below is the summary of what Human Rights Watch reported on violations in Armenia during 2017:
“Parliamentary elections, the first since the 2015 constitutional amendments moving the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system, failed to improve public confidence in the electoral system. The ruling Republican Party dominated the polls amid reports of irregularities. Authorities failed to bring to justice officials responsible for excessive use of force against protesters and journalists, including during largely peaceful protests in Yerevan in July 2016. The trials of 32 men accused of crimes committed during the violent takeover of a police station in Yerevan, which prompted the protests, were ongoing at time of writing. Four defendants have reported ill-treatment in detention.”