The Armenian authorities continue to restrict freedom of assembly, while international partners have not fully leveraged their influence to improve human rights situation, reads the World Report 2012 issued by Human Rights Watch.

The report mentions that torture and ill-treatment in police custody persist and the government has failed to effectively investigate a troubling number of deaths in custody and non-combat deaths in the military.

“In April 2011, Yerevan officials allowed the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) to demonstrate in Freedom Square for the first time since the March 2008 clashes. However, opposition activists allege that the authorities prevented demonstrators from traveling from other cities to participate in subsequent large opposition rallies,” the report says.

As regards media freedom, the report mentions Armenia decriminalized libel. “However, amendments to the civil code introduced high monetary fines for libel and defamation and led to an increase in lawsuits against newspapers, particularly by public officials. In some cases courts’ disproportionately large damage awards threaten the survival of newspapers.”

Summing up, the Human Rights Watch stresses that several of Armenia’s international partners limited their criticism of the government’s human rights record.