Epress.am News from Armenia
Overcrowding, inadequate sanitary conditions and medical care, and corruption are problems in prisons in Armenia, and conditions in some cases were harsh and life threatening, according to the US Department of State's Armenia Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2013, which was released on Feb. 27. The same issues were addressed in this report as in previous years, implying that they continue to be problems today.
The average prison population between January and September 2013 was 4,742; meanwhile, "the capacity of all penal institutions was 4,395 persons," reads the section of the report on prison and detention center conditions.
On women and juvenile convicts: "During the first nine months of the year, the Abovian penitentiary for women and juveniles held an average of 203 women and 24 juveniles (of which one was female). There were no separate facilities for female juvenile convicts, mainly because there rarely were juvenile convicts. When there were such convicts, authorities held them together with adult women."
On deaths in prison: "According to official data, the number of deaths in prisons during the first nine months of the year was 14, with the cause of death listed as illness in 11 cases, suicide in two cases, and one due to injuries resulting from a fall. According to human rights organizations, overcrowding, the poor condition of the buildings, and negligence in providing health care to inmates contributed to the death rate."
The US State Department also mentioned the low pay of prison administrators and guards, which likely led to prison staff using a "clandestine system to extract bribes from prisoners for basic services and privileges. For example, convicts paid bribes to obtain a better cell, take showers, visit other cells, avoid cell inspections, obtain medicine and narcotics, have a television set, keep a mobile phone, or be transferred to the prison hospital. According to various accounts, a transfer to the prison hospital, which had somewhat better conditions, required a bribe of $500 to $1,000."
On the lack of progress: "In October 2012, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) released a report describing its 2011 follow-up visit to Kentron and Nubarashen prisons. The CPT found authorities had failed to implement most of the recommendations concerning prisoners serving life sentences that it made following its 2010 visit," while the conditions for lifers in Kentron penitentiary can be considered inhumane.
The commission on early release and release on parole was also criticized due to "the absence of criteria to guide the commissions’ decisions." Furthermore, "the absence of an appeal mechanism and the overrepresentation of law enforcement representatives on the commissions also remained obstacles to due process."