Closed Institutions - forrights.am

Legislation on “lifers” is applied reluctantly: Only two have been moved to open regime in three years

by Journalists for Human Rights | Jan 16, 2023 | Closed Institutions, Editor's Choice

Under a law passed in 2019, lifers who have served 15 years in prison can be moved to a semi-closed correctional facility if they show positive behavior, and after 18 years in prison they can be moved to the most lenient, semi-open regime, which means they stay in...

“He hit so hard; sparks flew out of my eyes:” the patient was subjected to severe violence in Nubarashen psychiatric hospital

by Journalists for Human Rights | Dec 26, 2022 | Closed Institutions, Editor's Choice

One of the patients receiving inpatient treatment at the Nubarashen Mental Health Center was abused by the nurse, kicking and hitting different parts of his body. Lawyer Armine Davtyan alerted the Journalists for Human Rights NGO about the incident. “The nurse,...

Prisons are black triangles where people can be beaten, killed, and disappear

by Journalists for Human Rights | Oct 31, 2022 | Closed Institutions, Editor's Choice

On October 23, there was a fight and a stabbing in the Armavir penitentiary. Several convicts beat and stabbed Arman B., the “zone watcher” of the detention center, after which he was taken to the hospital. According to our information, shortly he was...

On a 21-days hunger strike: Convict demands treatment

by Journalists for Human Rights | Sep 26, 2022 | Closed Institutions

Hayk Vardanyan, a prisoner of the “Armavir” penitentiary, has been on hunger strike for 21 days. He only demands that he be transferred to a civil hospital and finally treated. In the medical history of Hyak Vardanyan, it is mentioned that he has urethral...

Who will answer for destroying the health of the convicts? The sick convict is on hunger strike again

by Journalists for Human Rights | Sep 12, 2022 | Closed Institutions, Torture

Hayk Vardanyan has been in detention for 6 years. For 5 of these 6 years, he was kept in the Hospital of Convicts penitentiary. During brief respites of health, he was taken back to his deployment site. At the moment, Hayk Vardanyan is in the Armavir penitentiary. He...

“And who is to blame? Me alone, no one else. I could not have committed that murder”

by Journalists for Human Rights | Jul 21, 2022 | Closed Institutions, Editor's Choice, Photos

These are the words of Yuri Sargsyan, who has been sentenced to life since 1994. He says that a lot has changed in his life during these 28 years. Yuri divided those years into phases: before he was in a prison made by his brain; now this is a different prison for...