Everyone should know this! Why? Because if that happens, there will be no way to prepare. At the moment of detention, any person experiences extreme stress, which some law enforcement officers do not shy away from taking advantage of. In this article, we will analyze how you can avoid making irreparable mistakes.

And so, let’s figure out what is meant by detention. Thus, detention is understood as the process of depriving a person of liberty who is suspected of a crime without a court decision.

Pursuant to Articles 108 and 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Armenia, the period of criminal detention may not exceed 72 hours, and the period of detention shall be counted from the moment of actual deprivation of liberty.

In what cases can a person be detained?

Pursuant to Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Armenia, a person may be subjected to criminal detention for the following reasons:

• There is a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed a crime;
• If the person is a defendant in a case who is at large and needs to be brought before a court;
• If the person is the accused in the case and has violated the preventive measures (for example, the person has violated the house arrest established by the court).

What do you have the right to when detained?

The rights of detainees are enshrined in both domestic law and international standards. Thus, according to Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, a detainee has the following rights:

• Right to silence – a person has the right not‑ to say anything when detained. If a person does not know what to say, then it is best not to say anything at that moment. Many detainees aggravate their situation due to being in a new and unusual environment and under pressure from law enforcement officers;
• The right to know the reason for detention – ‑law enforcement officers are obligated to immediately and in detail explain the reasons for detention in a language understandable to the detainee (if necessary, with the involvement of an interpreter), as well as to inform him of all his rights and obligations;
• Detainees ‑ have the right to receive qualified legal assistance from both a private defender and a public defender, if they are unable to obtain a lawyer, the police officer is obligated to provide the detainee with the opportunity to exercise this right no later than 3 hours after the actual deprivation of liberty of the person. Do not neglect the presented right, because the sooner the defense tactics, the higher the chances of a favorable outcome of the case for the detainee;
• The right to notify a specific person of the whereabouts of a detainee. A person has the right to choose whom to notify of his whereabouts, this opportunity must be given within 3 hours of detention;
• Right to medical assistance – if‑ necessary, the police are obliged to take measures to provide medical and/or other assistance to the detained person.

From all this, it follows that in cases of detention, highly qualified legal assistance is necessary, so we recommend that you immediately contact the law office of Vardan Khechyan. Write down the contacts so you don’t lose them!

☎+374 33 311 00 

✉vardan@khechyan.com 

🏢 0002 Yerevan, 6 Yekmalyan St., этаж 2

🔗 https://www.armenianlaw.com/

Tg: @VardanLaw