Armenia’s Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan and Christoph Breuning, Chargé d'affaires of the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Armenia signed the Agreement commencing a joint project “Access to Legal Aid for Victims of Torture and Ill-Treatment in Places of Deprivation of Liberty”.

According to a press release, the project aims at enhancing access to free legal aid and advocacy for victims of torture and ill-treatment identified through the Ombudsman’s National Preventative Mechanism team, in the military and places of deprivation of liberty, including penitentiary institutions, police stations, orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, etc. The program will be implemented in partnership with Human Rights House NGO. The amount of the financial contribution of the German embassy is EUR 22.300.

The Projects envisages establishment of a “Travelling Advocate” scheme in partnership with HRH NGO to visit places of deprivation of liberty and provide free legal assistance to victims of torture and ill-treatment.

It is expected to result in increased accountability in the military and places of deprivation of liberty for incidents of torture and ill-treatment, improved access to the courts and legal complaints mechanisms and raised awareness among persons in places of deprivation of liberty of their rights and the support services available to them.