On the morning of October 21, 2024, the HCAV office was alerted by Roman Shklover, a citizen of the Russian Federation, and reported that he had received a call from the police and was summoned to the department. Shklover voluntarily presented himself to the Yerevan Metropolitan Police Department of the RA Police on the basis of a search warrant issued by Russian law enforcement officers.
Update: Shklover was released on the night of October 22.
HCAV office lawyer Samson Galstyan went to the relevant police department to provide legal assistance on the spot and assumed the protection of the latter’s rights and freedoms.
Shklover was arrested for a crime that is not considered a criminal offense in Armenia. By decision of law enforcement agencies, he was transferred to a detention center. The arrest of Shklover and other foreigners is a consequence of an illegal mutual assistance agreement between the CIS countries.
The HCAV office reaffirms its demand that the Republic of Armenia should cancel the mutual assistance treaty, since other authoritarian states that are members of the treaty are initiating criminal cases for political reasons, and a search is being declared, the execution of which in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, i.e. arrest or detention, would constitute a gross violation of human rights by the Republic of Armenia. Moreover, in the event of extradition of these persons, the Republic of Armenia would put their security and lives at risk. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, domestic legislation and international treaties and conventions ratified by the Republic of Armenia, no one may be extradited to a foreign state, even if it is the state of the person’s citizenship, if there are serious grounds for suspecting that the person may be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment in that state.
- The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office simultaneously announces that all foreign citizens or stateless persons who have been persecuted in their country because of their beliefs and are now facing the legal issue of their extradition by the Republic of Armenia may apply to the Organization for appropriate legal assistance.
The mentioned persons may call the organization’s lawyers at the numbers listed below to receive legal assistance.
093-81-92-75
094-04-22-68
