Although I’ve been living in Armenia for 7 years now, it wasn’t until last year that I visited my first prison, the Women and Children’s Penal Colony in Abovian, to write an article for UNICEF. Although conditions still leave a lot to be desired, since prisons in Armenia were transfered from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice in 2001, there’s no doubt that reforms have paid dividends in this colony at least. Legislative changes have also helped.

Recent legislative changes will also allow those convicted as teenagers to serve their complete sentence in Abovian rather than be transferred to a prison intended for adults where conditions are much worse.

[…]

And because of reform of the Criminal Code, which has now seen the introduction of fines and probation as well as community service, the number of juvenile detainees continues to decrease. In particular, pre-trial detention is now sought only for serious crimes committed by minors.

Therefore, it was with great interest that I accompanied Edik Baghdarasian and Sara Petrosyan from Hetq Online to a prison for adult males in Kosh. Although I expected the worst, conditions weren’t as bad as I might have imagined. In part, this is not only because of changes in the prison system itself, but also continuing reform implemented with the support of the OSCE office in Yerevan.

“Armenia has achieved significant results over the past few years in reforming its penitentiary system,” said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

[…]

Better trained prison staff should provide for more effective protection of the rights of detainees.

On the other hand, Kosh’s proximity to Yerevan makes it more likely that reforms are effectively implemented and monitored, and I’d like to visit other prisons further away from the capital to compare the situation there. Certainly, the 2004 U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report for Armenia still raises some concerns.

Prison conditions remained poor and posed a threat to health. Holding and detention cells were overcrowded, and most did not have toilets. Prison authorities did not provide most inmates with basic hygienic supplies. According to the newly formed Civil Society Monitoring Board (CSMB), prisoners remained at a high risk to contract tuberculosis, and adolescents held in juvenile facilities rarely were provided with the schooling required by law. The CSMB also reported that, in certain jails, prisoners paid bribes to move into single occupancy cells and to obtain additional comforts. In some prisons, monitors noted that prisoners had difficulty mailing letters and that some prison officials did not facilitate family visits adequately.

Men, women, and juveniles were held in separate prisons, and pretrial detainees were held separately from prisoners. CSMB monitors reported that female prisoners had more freedom of movement, and that their facility was cleaner and better equipped and maintained than prisons for men.

Nevertheless, conditions in Kosh seemed better than I expected with the atmosphere and relationship between wardens and inmates appeared relaxed. Certainly, the overall situation was better than that detailed in a recent article and photo essay on prisons in the Republic of Georgia published by Eurasianet.

Even so, I’m not sure that prisons in Armenia should be guarded by soldiers.

A photostory, as well as articles by Edik and Sara, will be published by Hetq Online in the next week or two, but until then, a few images from today’s visit to Kosh can be found on the Hetq Online Photoblog at http://hetq.am/wp/?p=62. Watch this space.