Report on Human Rights Practices Country of Armenia

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Armenia’s constitution provides for a republic with an elected head of state and a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. In 2008 Serzh Sargsian became president after a significantly flawed election. The ruling coalition, led by Sargsian’s Republican Party of Armenia, continued to dominate the political system. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The most significant human rights problems were limitations on citizens’ right to change their government, freedom of speech and press, and the independence of the judiciary. The government released the remaining six opposition members detained in connection with the 2008 clashes between security forces and protesters disputing the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. Since April 28 the government began permitting demonstrations and opposition rallies in previously restricted areas of the capital city, and all were held without incident, although demonstrators from outside of Yerevan at times were impeded in their attempts to travel to rallies. The media, in particular television, continued to lack diversity of political opinion and objective reporting. The government decriminalized libel and defamation but established high new civil fines that encouraged journalists and media outlets to practice self-censorship. The process used to switch from analog to digital television reduced media pluralism. Courts remained subject to political pressure from the executive branch, and judges operated in a judicial culture that expected courts to find the accused guilty in almost every case. During the year suspicious deaths occurred in the military under noncombat conditions, while hazing and other mistreatment of conscripts by officers and fellow soldiers, and a lack of accountability for such actions, continued. Allegations of torture continued. Many prisons were overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacking in medical services for inmates. Police reportedly beat citizens during arrest and interrogation. Authorities continued to arrest and detain criminal suspects without reasonable suspicion and to detain individuals arbitrarily due to their opposition political affiliations or political activities. Authorities and laws restricted religious freedom for certain groups. Corruption remained a problem, with authorities taking limited measures to curb it.