Ombudsman records violation of life-imprisonment inmate’s rights
Ombudsman of Armenia presented a proposal on eliminating human rights and freedoms violations. The proposal relates to relocating inmates serving a life sentence to correctional facilities closer to the location where their families live.
The placement commission of the correctional service denied the request of an inmate, who is serving a life sentence, on moving him to a prison which is in closer to where his family lives, although practically the rule of serving the sentence in one correctional facility doesn’t have a uniform application.
The Ombudsman recorded a violation in the decision and raised the issue of segregation of inmates, citing the internationally declared – non-segregation principle. The Human Rights Defender also emphasized the necessity of designing a bill on revising the requirement of segregation.
A legislative changes package was designed by the Ombudsman’s Office, which proposes to consider the aim of ensuring an inmate’s contact with his/her family members, while transporting them to another correctional facility.
