Human rights reps visit student detained after church incident  involving Pashinyan

ArmInfo.Representatives of the Armenian Ombudsman's Office visited the Armavir Penitentiary  Institution (PII), where they met with an 18-year-old student David Minasyan, detained after the incident  at St. Anne's Church involving Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

According to the press service of the Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office, during a  visit organized at the request of the Armenian Ombudsperson, Anahit  Manasyan, representatives of the Human Rights Defender spoke  privately with Minasyan. Some of the issues he raised were then  discussed on-site with the institution's administration and the staff  of the Penitentiary Medicine Center to ensure proper medical  supervision.

According to the source, special attention was paid to issues related  to ensuring the right to education, as well as to life and health. In  this regard, the Armenian Ombudsperson emphasized that the state is  obligated to guarantee security and adequate medical care, as well as  the full realization of education and other fundamental rights.

While evading the question of the legality of using detention in this  specific case, given the prohibition on interfering with the courts,  Manasyan noted that she has repeatedly stated that there are systemic  issues in the practice of using detention as a preventive measure.  The Human Rights Defender of Armenia reiterated its position that  when choosing a preventive measure, its legality must be taken into  account, and it must be remembered that arrest may only be used if  alternative measures are insufficient to prevent the accused from  fleeing, committing a new crime, or committing other acts. The Human  Rights Defender of Armenia noted that abuse of the institution of  detention can seriously undermine trust in the entire criminal  justice system and lead to other systemic problems.

During the visit, representatives of the Human Rights Defender of  Armenia also met with other prisoners to address issues related to  their rights.