Epress.am News from Armenia
On November 4, security officers of Nubarashen penitentiary institution in Yerevan entered a number of cells and inquired as to whether inmates wanted to receive meals from the prison, a relative of one of the prisoners told Epress.am. According to the source who wished to remain anonymous, this was the first such inquiry, justified by the desire to “avoid preparing excessive food.”
Four of the seven inmates of one of the cells refused the meals, saying they “don't need your dog-food.” Starting November 5, the officers stopped providing the four prisoners not only with meals, but also with bread. The inmates appealed to the management of the penal institution, informing that they still wished to be given the bread.
“They were told, 'If you don't want meals, you won't get bread either.' A staff member of Armenia's Human Rights Defender's office witnessed this conversation,” the source stressed.
Epress.am reached out to the Ombudsman's staff on Monday for a clarification on the issue. In response, we were told that a member of the Torture and Violence Prevention Department of the Ombudsman staff was indeed present on November 6 at Nubarashen prison and found out that the inmates of one of the cells had complained about not getting bread.
“Ombudsman's representative raised the issue in a conversation with the management, and the prison head promised to take the problem into consideration. The next day, the staffer again spoke with the head who said that a few prisoners had voluntarily in writing refused prison meals. It turned out that that inmates had already pulled their applications and were once again receiving food,” the response of the Human Rights Defender's office said.