THE PERSON’S RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED IN THE INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT
On January 26, 2024 beneficiary R.H. (name is changed) applied to New Generation Humanitarian NGO (NG NGO). The beneficiary informed that on January 25, 2024 he met with a person whom he’d got to know though social media, and on the way back home the person robbed R.H.. The victim called the police to file a report. Police officers visited R.H.’s apartment to take an application, where the victim told them that the person who had committed the robbery had been the taxi driver.
The next day – on January 26, 2024, R.H. was called to the Investigation Deparmtent of Yerevan city for additional explanation.
In the department, the officers began interrogating the victim and inquiring why he had not completed mandatory military service, whether he is “homosexual” and other similar questions. R.H., not knowing his rights, answered all their questions and was forced to disclose his HIV positive status, as he was exempted from mandatory military service on that basis. After the disclosure of the status, the information was spread throughout the investigation department, and the employees of the department started making fun of the person.
As a result of the pressure exerted during the interrogation, the victim had to inform that the person who had stolen his things was not a taxi driver, but a person he had met through a social platform. The victim told the interrogators that he hadn’t told the truth when submitting the application about the robbery because of his mother’s presence, as he did not want her to find out about his sexual orientation.
After all that, the victim was not allowed to leave the investigation department, where he stayed for 7 hours.
After the beneficiary’s applying to the NG NGO, the NGO lawyer contacted the employees of the investigation department and reached an agreement on the person leaving the department, but after some time it was found that the department employees not only did not allow the person to leave the department, but also put pressure on him, threatened that he would be prosecuted for giving a false testimony.
The NG NGO contacted the Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia on the issue. As a result of cooperation with the latter, the person was allowed to leave the investigation department.
Later it was found out that not the investigator of the case received R.H. but the other investigators of the department, while they didn’t have the right to do it.
Moreover, the investigators checked the person’s mobile phone, called the victim’s mother and tried to to find out if she was aware that her son had an HIV positive status.
A day later, the victim learned from his relatives that the same department had called his relatives and invited them to give testimony. NG NGO informed about this to the HRD office and had a conversation with the deputy head of the investigation department, as a result of which they stopped calling the person’s relatives and mother.
NG NGO continues to provide legal support to the beneficiary.
Information about the progress of the case will be covered additionally.