Lawyers are subjected to search in Armenian penitentiary facilities

A group of lawyers claim, they are subjected to search in the penitentiary facilities, which is a violation of the law. At the same time, if a lawyer refuses to undergo a search procedure, he/she is not allowed to meet the client.

As Lusine Sahakyan, a lawyer, told Tert.am media outlet, the lawyers’ rights are violated regularly. At the same time, as she pointed out, that’s not due to the ignorance of the law. Whereas the Chamber of Advocates can’t protect them in view of weakening of its positions. “We will struggle against this phenomenon, because if the lawyers can’s fight for their rights, then they won’t be able to defend others’ rights,” Sahakyan stressed.

In this regard, Armenian Justice Minister, Arpine Hovhannisyan, met with the Head of the Chamber of Advocates, Ara Zohrabyan. A joint communique was released following the meeting.

According to Lusine Sahakyan, this document has been a step backward, since it sets the following provision: the lawyers can be examined, but not subjected to search. “Instead of protecting its lawyers, the Chamber of Advocates, as a structure, is actually fighting against them in every possible way. The state agencies will naturally violate the lawyers’ rights, since the existence of a strong advocacy organization is not beneficial to them,” she said.

The lawyer believes, all legal means should be used to stop searches, otherwise she and her colleagues will have to resort to strike.