Nagorno-Karabakh residents complain of police to Ombudsman

Yuri Airapetyan, Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, will become a member of the European Institute of Ombudspersons. Having announced this news to journalists, Mr Airapetyan added that in 2008 there were no mass violations of human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh, as the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh has stated that as a whole he was rather satisfied with the level of his cooperation with the law enforcement bodies of the republic.

He has reported that in the period from May to December 2008 he received 196 applications from 267 persons, of them 113 appeals arrived in writing (including collective ones) and 83 ones were made orally. As a whole, within the reporting period the Ombudsman's office reveals 17 violations of human rights.

Most of the applications - 50 - contained complaints against the police, 37 - against district administrations, 25 - against Stepanakert Mayoralty, and 22 - against the courts. People complained of groundless keeping in custody by the police, passiveness in finding criminals, unreasonable accusations, and refusal to issue a passport and de-register.

The Ombudsman asserts that quite a lot of citizens prefer settling their disputes not in the court but in other state bodies. "The complaints that our office receives indicate people's mistrust in the judicial system", said Mr Airapetyan.