Lifers complain of prison conditions (video)
Convict Tigran Avetiysan has been behind bars for 20 years. He might be at large today if in 2003 ex-President Robert Kocharyan did not sign a decree to replace death penalty by life imprisonment. A group of lifers started an indefinite hunger strike in Nubarashen prison on September 22. In a letter addressed to Serzh Sargsyan, the prisoners said that they have lost trust in the relevant authorities, as their inactivity made them take measures of last resort. The prisoners draw Sargsyan’s attention to problems which have been ignored for many years and violation of the law by the relevant authorities. Mrs Anahit sasy she does not know whether her brother, Tigran, is among the strikers or not, but Tigran also sought changes in prison conditions. “It is already 20 years he has been in prison. He wants to go out, walk in the air and see his relatives more frequently,” she said. “Life-termers in Armenia are kept in terrible conditions. I am not speaking only about the basic conditions,” says human rights activist Janna Alexanyan. “Their cases have not been reviewed to this date which is generally accepted international practice.” Zaruhi Mejlumyan, a journalist covering court cases, says she has raised the issue many times and turned to relevant authorities but to no avail. The death penalty was cancelled in Armenia in 2003 when it joined the Council of Europe. The death penalty was substituted for life imprisonment. Details are available in the video.
