In a conversation with Radar Armenia, human rights defender Zhanna Aleksanyan summarized the past year, 2022.
– Legally, what kind of year was 2022? Were the rights of citizens more protected in 2021 or 2022?
— The rights are violated more today compared to last year and after the revolution, in general. Violations are increasing because the systems have stayed the same – not the judicial system, not any system where a person can fully exercise his right. And those systems do not serve to protect the rights of citizens.
– What are your expectations from 2023?
– I find it difficult to talk about expectations anymore because I need to see the works and reforms promised by the government implemented. For example, suppose it is promised that the police system will be reformed or the patrol service will be reformed simultaneously. In that case, we regularly hear about the use of violence by various patrol service officers. Suppose they say that they will reform the judicial system, then. In that case, they face a choice: to improve the judicial system or to elect Mnatsakan Martirosyan, a discredited judge, which they prefer to do. They chose to promote and preserve Mnatsakan Martirosyan. We remember very well that after coming to power, the Prime Minister announced that the judges in the cases sent to the ECtHR, who had made illegal verdicts, should leave the system. But one of the most famous judges was Mnatsakan Martirosyan, who, as you know, holds a position; he received the status of a high-ranking anti-corruption judge. Or when a member of the KP party, a close friend of the prime minister, a former employee, or a party member is elected as the president of the CEC, what hope should this give that the next elections can improve? Therefore, what else can we expect? We place expectations on the work we do. If we manage to protect the rights of 10 people, it is a success in this reality.
– To have a state with legal supremacy, what should be the sequence and priorities of the public’s steps?
– Of course, the public and the press also have a very huge in influencing the processes. They should demand and speak about these problems. There are several non-governmental organizations, and representatives of political society, which do their work. For example, the arms, speaking aloud. They protect human rights by making them public. And if our publications receive a tremendous public response, these cases end successfully. The strong reaction of society can play a vital role in protecting human rights. The public should be able to influence the processes. This should be the people’s doing. Of course, it isn’t easy to control political circles, but it is possible from the point of view of human rights.
