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Human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan has condemned the utter lack of control in Armenian prisons, highlighting the four recent deaths and numerous incidents of self-harm among detainees and convicts.

“The situation in penitentiaries is disgraceful. The four deaths recorded this year indicate the complete chaos within the prison system," she stated in an interview with Panorama.am on Thursday.

A long-time advocate for prisoners' rights, Aleksanyan also raised concerns about the growing number of hunger strikes in prisons, noting that prisoners’ complaints are largely ignored. She revealed that hunger strikes are often underreported.

"Although I get numerous calls, I can’t keep track of all the cases as prison authorities provide little data," she explained. "However, it’s clear that the number of hunger strikes has increased."

According to Aleksanyan, prisoners resort to hunger strikes to draw attention to basic problems, including requests to be moved to other cells, meet with ombudsperson's representatives or receive medical treatment for multiple illnesses. She cited the example of Ashot Israelyan, a 50-year-old inmate at the Armavir Penitentiary, who, suffering from numerous health conditions, including spinal hernia, hepatitis C, HIV and diabetes, went on a hunger strike for 43 days to demand transfer to the Prison Hospital. Only after 43 days was his demand for medical attention met, she noted.

Naira Babayan, an employee of the Probation Service, claimed that Israelyan’s hunger strike was simply aimed to secure his transfer to the Prison Hospital. However, his request to meet with the human rights defender's staff was also not granted.

Aleksanyan emphasized the negative attitude of the Probation Service, particularly towards hunger strikers, and pointed out that a death linked to a hunger strike was recorded earlier this year.

In response to reports indicating four deaths in prisons as of January 24, two from biological causes and two from suicides, Aleksanyan questioned the classification of the biological deaths. "There is a clear negative attitude towards detainees and convicts," she said.

Over the past year, Aleksanyan observed a regression in the prison system. Notably, the public monitoring group of penitentiaries ceased its visits to prisoners due to a lack of funding. "The situation in prisons is completely neglected and is only getting worse," she lamented.

Aleksanyan hopes that the appointment of a new head of the Ministry of Justice's Penitentiary Service will bring about changes.

The activist also pointed to the hundreds of self-mutilation and self-harm incidents in prisons as further evidence of the dire conditions.

Reflecting on past reforms, Aleksanyan recalled some progress made under Arpine Sargsyan, when she served as deputy minister of justice and oversaw the penitentiaries. "I saw some changes during her tenure," Aleksanyan said. "But with three different ministers in the past few years, the question remains: who will manage to implement meaningful reforms?"