Report on Armenian penitentiary institutions presented in Yerevan

YEREVAN, 5 October 2006 - The results of a monitoring of Armenian prisons or detention centres in 2005, the conditions and treatment of prisoners, were presented in Yerevan today.

Prepared by the Public Monitoring Group, it focuses on the medical services and food the inmates receive, psychological problems, contact with the outside world, daily exercises, as well as the prevention of torture and inhumane treatment, and prison personnel.

The Group was established under the Justice Ministry to observe the rights of detainees and is supported by the OSCE.

"This year's report is a big step forward for the Public Monitoring Group, because it offers more concrete facts, recommendations and analysis," said Silvia Pogolsa, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "I also welcome the constructive co-operation offered by the Justice Ministry, which provided essential responses and took into consideration many recommendations suggested by the Group."

Mikhael Baghdasaryan, the Head of the Public Monitoring Group, added: "Our monitoring revealed that the Ministry implemented some of the recommendations we made in our 2004 report. We hope that the points outlined in this report will also be adequately considered and help improve the conditions of the prisoners."

A practical guide for NGOs on monitoring places of detention elaborated by the Association of the Prevention of Torture and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was also presented. It has been translated into Armenian with the help of the OSCE Office and ODIHR.

The OSCE Office in Yerevan together with the Open Society Institute Armenia Foundation have been providing support to the Public Monitoring Group since 2004.