On October 28 and 29, a two-day training on “Isolation of people deprived of liberty: international standards” took place in Tsaghkadzor. It was organized in the framework of the project “Supporting the criminal justice reform and combating ill-treatment and impunity in Armenia”, within the cooperation between the Human Rights Defender’s Office and the Council of Europe.
RA Human Rights Defender, Arman Tatoyan during his opening speech highlighted the importance of discussions of issues related to securing the rights of people deprived of liberty and outlining possible solutions through organizing similar events.
The main aim of the training was to discuss practical and legislative issues related to the isolation of people deprived of liberty, international approaches for their resolution, enhancing the participants’ professional skills in this field.
Representatives of the Human Rights Defender's Office, as well as of RA Ministry of Justice and the civil society participated in the event.
Milos Jankovic, a lawyer with extensive experience in the field of torture prevention, and forensic doctor Marija Definis-Gojanovic were invited to the event as experts. The latter referred to international principles and the best practice on isolation of people deprived of liberty, as well as the medical and legal issues arising in cases of hunger strikes by people deprived of liberty.
Issues related to the isolation of people with mental health problems, repressive measures taken against them, as well as the isolation of vulnerable individuals were subject to separate discussions.