2024-09-04 18:30:16
Human rights organizations “Helsinki Committee of Armenia” and “Armenian Center for Political Rights” condemn A. The prosecution and sentence against Chalabyan, considering that it is carried out for political reasons, is discriminatory and does not meet the standards of human rights assumed by RA and internationally accepted.
“The primary problem is related to A. With the law applied against Chalabyan. Financial solicitation for the purpose of participation in an assembly is not related to coercion or obstruction and, in fact, can refer to any material support for the purpose of participation in the assembly or for refusing to participate in the assembly.
Let’s remind that the package of legislative amendments, which is the basis of the accusation, was presented by the Speaker of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan to the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, in order to get an opinion, which in their opinion referred only to the crimes of forced participation in the gatherings or obstruction, leaving out the new material interest in order to participate in the gathering. crime. The lack of reference to the mentioned new crime can be explained by the fact that there were flaws in the English translation of the legislative package presented by the National Assembly, which distorted the meaning of the crime. According to international best practice, the practice of incentivized participation in rallies should not be subject to legal regulation, unless the provision of such incentives conflicts with laws imposing proportionate restrictions on election campaign financing.
It should be noted that the crime of taking material interest in order to participate in the gathering has been applied so far only to opposition figures and outside of the context of pre-election campaign financing. ARF members Artavazd Margaryan and Garnik Manukyan are also being prosecuted under the same article.
Եզրակացություն․
– The crime of taking material interest in order to participate in gatherings, outside of the context of pre-election campaign financing restrictions, contradicts international standards.
– A. The prosecution and conviction of Chalabyan, the permanent ban on the right to enjoy fundamental freedom on such a problematic legal basis do not meet the standards of human rights, both in the context of the law applied against him, as well as in the context of his arrest during the prosecution and other accompanying events.
– The dependence of the judicial power of RA on the executive is a systemic problem, which considering A. The circumstances of the criminal prosecution against Chalabyan directly affected his fundamental rights and freedoms.
– The crime of taking material interest in order to participate in the meeting, not meeting the international standards, is applied in a highly discriminatory manner. In one case, in the context of gatherings unrelated to electoral processes, it is used as a tool to persecute opposition politicians. In the other case, it does not apply when the actions were carried out by the ruling CP party, as happened in 2023. During the Yerevan Council of Elders election campaign.
The Helsinki Committee of Armenia and the Armenian Center for Political Rights announce that Avetik Chalabyan is being politically persecuted.
Առաջարկություններ․
– To the RA Government and the National Assembly to suspend the RA Criminal Code
The activities of the criminal organization provided for in Article 236, Part 2, and to present it in the current version to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR in order to receive an expert opinion.
– To the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR to review the approach expressed in the joint urgent opinion and publish a position, also taking into account the practices of the mentioned criminal organization in RA,” the text states.