Violent insults and threats against Women’s Support Center staff

The Women’s Support Center expresses its concern and draws the attention of law enforcement agencies, the Human Rights Defender, the media once again to the case of the center’s lawyer and other persons who used violence against the family members in connection with the case of threats and personal insults against the lawyer and other employees of the center by a person who has used violence against the family.

In particular, on July 7, 2012, the court session on the civil case No. ED / 21929/02/19 took place in the Ajapnyak residence of the Court of General Jurisdiction of the city of Yerevan, after which the abusive husband (who, by the way, was a police officer and  is currently is listed as violent) has shown aggressive behavior, insulted and threatened the center’s lawyer and other employees.

Such situations are very dangerous and pose a real threat to the activities of human rights organizations and lawyers. The latter are often targeted, subjected to various attacks and pressure by the perpetrators. More problematic is the fact that in such cases the law does not provide for the provision of protection and security measures to the employees of the structures, as well as the application of responsibility to the perpetrators.

The claimant expects that as a result of this case, the legal protection of judges will be increased through the recognition and application of the following legal criteria: Moreover, there are no legal mechanisms to force a person who has committed domestic violence to undergo a medical examination and to restrict the exercise of parental rights. At the same time, taking into account the possibility of creating a high level of legal awareness and public awareness in cases of domestic violence, we suggest that interested persons and media representatives participate and cover the case. The next hearing will take place on July 9 at 5:20 pm in the Ajapnyak residence of the Court of General Jurisdiction of the city of Yerevan.

Full text in Armenian