Failure by the police to bring Zhirayr Sefilyan and other persons deprived of liberty before the court, including individuals detained in relation to the armed attack on Police Patrol Regiment Service, is viewed by the Human Rights Defender from the perspective of guaranteeing their rights to personal liberty and fair trial. On the other hand, the security interests and the need for protection of persons deprived of liberty must also be taken into consideration.
As a public justification for not bringing the persons deprived of liberty before the court, the Police states that they had received operative information that the supporters of Zhirayr Sefilyan and the other detained persons could surround the court building and hinder their transfer to the penitentiary institution. Therefore, according to the Police, the reason for not bringing Zhirayr Sefilyan and others before the court was to secure their safety. The Police presented oral clarification to the Human Rights Defender’s Office stating that there were also technical reasons for failure of bringing those deprived of liberty before the court.
In a specific situation, the Human Rights Defender also takes into consideration that, according to the advocates of the persons deprived of liberty, the court must have discussed the motives for releasing some of their defendants from detention. Besides, some of the persons deprived of liberty, filed complaints to the Human Rights Defender’s Office related to failure by the Police to bring them before the court and interfering with the realization of their rights. They reaffirmed the same complaints during private interviews with the Defender’s representatives at the penitentiary institution.
The Human Rights Defender finds it necessary to stress that the rights to personal liberty and fair trial are constitutional values, and the court is the highest body responsible for securing those values. The transfer of a person deprived of liberty to the court on the basis of a judicial decision is aimed at guaranteeing the person’s participation in a judicial hearingprescheduled by the court. Performance by the Police of this obligation is a necessary precondition for the realization of the mentioned rights of the individual. The Police shall perform that obligation in strict compliance with the legal regulationsprovided for the realization of that objective.
Solid justification shall be provided for every instance of failure to bring persons deprived of liberty before the court for security reasons, with due consideration of the fact that the question relates to constitutional rights of the individual and execution of a decision adopted by the judiciary. It must always be taken into consideration that failure by the Police to perform this obligation creates a risk of deprivation of liberty without proper judicial review and impossibility for the enjoyment of the right to fair trial at a specific stage of the judicial proceedings. In other words, such solid justification must be provided for the security interest of a person deprived of liberty which will, in the balance of interests,outweigh the high interest of guaranteeing the right to personal liberty and fair trial, as well as the failure by the law-enforcement bodies to execute a lawful order by the court.
The Human Rights Defender, guided by the mentioned principles, finds impermissible the failure by the Police to perform its obligation of bringing Zhirayr Sefilyan and others deprived of liberty before the court in this specific situation.
Therefore, in the existing situation, failure to bring the mentioned individuals before the court constitutes an illegitimate interference with the realization of their rights to personal liberty and fair trial.
Investigation proceedings have been initiated at the Human Rights Defender’s Office. A respective official letter has been addressed to the Police.