On October 16, 2009, the Court of First instance of Kentron and Nork Marash Communities of Yerevan decided to release on bail Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan, a member of the Armenian Helsinki Association and press photographer of the official website of the organisation (www.hahr.am), who had been in pre-trial detention for four months. Immediately after the hearing, Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan had to sign a document by which he committed not to leave the area. He eventually walked out of the court room free and the trial was postponed pending complementary investigation.
On June 6, 2009 the Court of First Instance for Kentron and Nork-Marash districts had placed Mr. Hakobyan in pre-trial detention. His arrest followed his attempt to monitor the elections for the Mayor of Yerevan together with a group of observers. After he had filed a complaint to challenge denial to accede a polling station, the police summoned him and eventually arrested him. Mr. Hakobyan was charged with "violence against a Government representative" pursuant to Article 316 of the Criminal Code and trial started on September 16, 2009.
The aforementioned organisations welcome Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan’s release, and thank all the persons, institutions and organisations who intervened in his favour.
Nevertheless, our organisations deplore that Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan remains charged with "violence against a Government representative". Our organisations urge the Armenian authorities to put an end to any kind of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan, in conformity with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Armenia.
Our organisations also denounce that, in the course of arrest and detention, Mr. Arshaluys Hakobyan was subjected to acts of ill-treatment. Therefore we urge the Armenian authorities to order a thorough, immediate, effective and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the sanctions provided by the law.