On 23 September – on the day of the elections of the Yerevan City Council - the Human Rights Defender's Office received 29 calls to its hotline as of 18:00.
12 calls, received to the hotline, were related to having less than 6 months of registration in Yerevan and, consequently, not having the opportunity to participate in the elections, and 11 calls were about the inaccessibility of polling stations for persons with disabilities.
Calls were also received regarding the possibility of electing with an identification card, not receiving the information sheets, etc.
The Human Rights Defender's Office provided citizens with legal consultation in all cases.
In addition, this morning, a citizen made a telephone call to the hotline of the Defender’s Office and provided information that the previous evening, he had been detained in the Mashtots division of the Police of the Republic of Armenia on suspicion of bribing voters and had been forcibly kept there till 06:00 AM. In regard to this issue, the Defender's Office initiated a discussion procedure to take the necessary steps on the basis of the report. Ms. Naira Zohrabyan - a deputy of the National Assembly and a candidate for Mayor of Yerevan - also reported on this case to the Human Rights Defender.
As a reminder, the Human Rights Defender's Office has 24-hour hotline – at 116 or (096) 116100 - which provides citizens with legal help and, if necessary, rapidly responds to alleged violations and problems.