Print this pageFor Immediate Release
May 3, 2004
Armenia stalls justice for conscientious objectors
YEREVAN, Armenia—On January 26, 2004, 18-year-old Artak Sayan, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was sentenced to two years in prison for his conscientious refusal to perform military service. He is one of 23 young men currently imprisoned in Armenia for this reason. Three other conscientious objectors have also been arrested and are awaiting their trial.
Why was the January 26 date of note? Armenia’s accession to the Council of Europe on January 25, 2001, had been granted on the condition that within three years the country would adopt a law on alternative service and in the meantime would pardon all imprisoned conscientious objectors. Instead, since January 26, 14 conscientious objectors, all Jehovah’s Witnesses, were sentenced to prison or had their sentences increased to the maximum term. One has since been released on probation.
Conscientious objectors are usually convicted under article 327(1) of the criminal code. Stepan Epremyan, who was sentenced on March 29, 2004, was ordered to pay a penalty of 300,000 drams (approximately $500 US) under the same criminal code. This is the first time that a fine was imposed instead of a prison sentence. Another conscientious objector, Vardan Sahakyan, who was sentenced on March 5, 2004, was convicted under article 362(1), which carries a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment. So far, Armenian authorities have handed down prison sentences to over 170 Jehovah’s Witnesses in similar circumstances.
“What makes it especially unsettling,” according to Hrach Keshishyan, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia, “is that these are honest, hardworking young men who are willing to perform alternative civilian service and thereby be productive members of society without going against their conscience. These young Witness men don't evade their responsibilities; in fact, they turn themselves in knowing the law as it stands now. But as long as this process continues, they are criminalized.”
Is a solution within reach? The day after Sayan’s arrest, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on Armenia to free all imprisoned conscientious objectors “immediately.”
There are approximately 8,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Armenia, out of a population of over 3,000,000.
Contact: J. R. Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600