Dear Secretary Kramer,

We believe that your forthcoming trips to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia provide important opportunities for raising key human rights concerns with the respective governments. Below we outline our main concerns in each country as well as recommendations for bringing the countries in line with their international commitments.

Human Rights Watch is writing to express its concern about the recent death of 31-year old Levon Gulyan, who died while in the custody of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Yerevan on May 12. Ministry of Internal Affairs officials had been questioning Mr. Gulyan that day and on previous days regarding the killing of Stephan Vardayan.

I would like to thank you for the written response by your government to our January 15 letter regarding human rights violations in Armenia, and to convey our appreciation for the time and effort you have devoted to this dialogue with Human Rights Watch. I would like to take this opportunity to respectfully clarify several issues in the context of this exchange.

I write to express our concern regarding reports that Anahid Tumaniyan,
a forty-five-year-old resident of Yerevan, her two
children—sixteen-year-old Aram and twenty-two-year-old Varduhi
Tumaniyan—and her twenty-year-old sister-in-law, Christina Torosiyan,
were severely beaten over a period of several days while in the custody of
the Erebuni District Police Station after their arrest on February 16, 1998.

I write to express our concern regarding six Armenian citizens who are conscientious objectors and who are
currently imprisoned for refusal to do military service on religious grounds, or who are in hiding due to continued
harassment.

I write to express our alarm regarding the results of a recent assessment carried out by Human Rights Watch investigators into human rights practices in Armenia. The Council of Europe's review of Armenia's membership application should yield substantial reforms, yet our recent findings that show that the government is falling well below the standards expected for membership. We believe that the widespread pattern of violations that we found in Armenia -- combined with the climate of impunity for their perpetrators -- is indicative of the government's lack of commitment to the rule of law.

I write to express our alarm regarding the results of a recent assessment carried out by Human Rights Watch investigators into human rights practices in Armenia.

I write to express our alarm regarding the results of a recent assessment carried out by Human Rights Watch investigators into human rights practices in Armenia. In 1996, Armenia applied for membership in the Council of Europe, an organization whose primary role is to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law throughout its member states. Armenia's application to the Council is currently under review, and we are deeply concerned by our recent findings that show that the government is falling well below the standards expected for membership.