Armenian Lawyer Chamber considers unacceptable the search of defenders by law enforcement officers without any valid reasons
ArmInfo.The Armenian Chamber of Lawyers issued a statement in connection with the search by law enforcement officers of some lawyers, in particular, defending the interests of the members of the Sasna Tsrer group, who captured the Police Service Patrol Building in July 2016.
In particular, the Chamber's statement stresses that, with regard to lawyers, a search can be carried out without special technical means only if law enforcement agencies have appropriate legal documents permitting such a procedure and in case of concrete and reasonable suspicions as to what the lawyer intends to carry to defendant or unauthorized items in the courtroom. "Otherwise, the search of lawyers is not permissible," the statement reads.
The Chamber of Lawyers also notes that for security purposes it is necessary to install special scanners, and not to search the bags and pockets of lawyers "by hand", thereby infringing their dignity.
To note, law enforcement officers prior to meeting searched some lawyers who defended the interests of members of the Sasna Tsrer group, as well as at the entrance to the court building. This caused dissatisfaction of the lawyers, some of them refused to go through this humiliating procedure, so they were not allowed to enter the courtroom to fulfill their professional duties.