CAT/C/63/D/719/2015 presidential election, held on 19 February 2008, was won by Serzh Sargsyan. His opponent, Mr. Ter-Petrosyan, came second but refused to accept the results, accusing Mr. Sargsyan of fraud and demanding new elections. Supporters of Mr. Ter-Petrosyan held mass demonstrations that drew thousands of people in the days following the election. There was a large police presence in the centre of the city, and access to government buildings and embassies was closed off. On the morning of 1 March 2008, the police used forced to clear Liberty Square, one of the main squares in Yerevan. Around 20,000 demonstrators gathered again later that day at another location in the centre of Yerevan to continue their protest. In the evening, the police again took action, this time with more serious consequences: in the confrontation between demonstrators and security forces, 10 persons were killed and many more were injured.16 According to several human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the police made unnecessary use of lethal force. Afterwards, around 100 of Mr. Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters were arrested and imprisoned. They included many prominent members of opposition parties who had led national and local campaigning for Mr. Ter-Petrosyan. Mr. Pashinyan went into hiding after the events of 1 March 2008. Along with seven others, he was wanted by the State party authorities on various charges. On 1 July 2009, he came out of hiding and surrendered to the police. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for organizing the protests of February and March 2008, and later released in 2011 due to an amnesty. 6.5 The State party also submits that, although the human rights situation in Armenia gives cause for concern, given the information from various public sources, there is no reason to conclude that expulsion to Armenia would, in itself, involve a risk of a violation of article 3 of the Convention. The six prisoners who numbered among the opposition supporters connected with the disturbances in 2008 have all been released. According to the April 2016 country report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, 17 there is considerable public dissatisfaction with widespread corruption, social inequality and the poor economic situation in Armenia. In general, people have little faith in the Government, with many trying to find a job abroad, if not for themselves then for their children. 6.6 The State party notes that every asylum application made by an Armenian national must be assessed on its own merits. The State party cites recent decisions related to the events of March 2008. In particular, with regard to an Armenian asylum seeker who claimed to have had problems as a result of the disturbances in February and March 2008, the European Court of Human Rights held that it considered that there was nothing to indicate that, more than five years after the events, the applicant would be of particular interest to the authorities, that he would be arrested upon his arrival in Yerevan and that he would be subjected to treatment contrary to article 3 of the Convention. 18 In a similar case, the Human Rights Committee stated that, with regard to the version of the author’s allegations that the State party did find credible, the question remained whether he would face a real risk of torture or ill-treatment in Armenia in the future. The Committee noted its concern over the fact that the author’s documents had been erroneously sent to the Armenian Embassy. Still, given that the author had never been politically active, given that he was no longer a police officer, and given the passage of time since the disputed 2008 election, the Committee could not conclude that the author would face a real risk of treatment contrary to article 7 of the Covenant if he were returned to Armenia. 19 16 17 18 19 6 www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/ambtsberichten/2010/08/27/armenie-02-08-2010 (in Dutch) and www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/ambtsberichten/2009/01/23/armenie-2009-01-23 (in Dutch); and the Economist, Intelligence Unit, Country profile on Armenia, May 2008. Available at www.eiu.com/FileHandler.ashx?issue_id=723138257&mode=pdf. See Ministry of Foreign Affairs country report on Armenia, 23 January 2009, p. 15. Available at www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/ambtsberichten/2009/01/23/armenie-2009-01-23 (in Dutch). Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ country report on Armenia, April 2016. Available at www.dienstterugkeerenvertrek.nl/binaries/algemeen-ambtsbericht-armenie-(april-2016)_tcm49218446.pdf (in Dutch). See European Court of Human Rights, S v. France (application No. 37229/11), judgment of 6 May 2014, para. 57 (in French). See G.H. v. Netherlands (CCPR/C/104/D/1801/2008), para. 11.7.