Protesting Yerevan Prisoners Transferred to ‘Cell Resembling Pigpen’

The prisoners of Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison who several days ago committed acts of self-harm in protest of the prison management’s decision to move them to another cell were today transferred there after all. Despite the Justice Ministry’s assertion that the inmates moved to the cell on the fifth floor of their own free will, the prisoners’ relatives insist that the men were left with no other choice, A1+ reports.

Speaking to the website’s reporter, one of the prisoners’ relatives said that the inmates were not subjected to violence during today’s transfer to the cell that “looks more like a pigpen.”

“There is no healthy spot left on their bodies, so they thought it pointless to continue to fight for their rights, when the law itself does not protect them. The prisoners are convinced that they would only further harm their families [if they continued to refuse to move], so they decided to obey the order,” the relative said, adding that the prisoners “feel neglected” by all the authorities and agencies which are supposedly engaged in the protection of their rights. “Instead of visiting the prisoners and making sure that they are safe, representatives of the Justice Ministry and the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman say that they have ‘made inquiries’ and found out that the prisoners are well.”