Forty-one of 51 convicts serving time for capital crimes have gone on a hunger strike at a state prison in the Nubarashen district of Yerevan. The prisoners are demanding a meeting with representatives of the European Union, Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to protest changes in their sentences.

Specifically, the prisoners are demanding that the overseeing bodies review their cases, now that Armenia has done away with the death penalty. (In accordance with Council of Europe guidelines, Armenia's criminal code was changed last year to abolish the death penalty, and death sentences were changed to life terms by a presidential decree. But, as there was no "life sentence" in the previous code, prisoners are saying that each case should be reconsidered separately.)

Ministry of Justice spokesman Ara Saghetalyan said the complaints will be reviewed in accordance with the law.

"The convicted certainly have the right to express their opinion in different acceptable ways. They may even go on a hunger strike, which is an extreme step," Saghetalyan said. "No one can say how long this hunger strike will take, however, based on the physician's decision we can put an end to it by compulsory feeding."

It is the second time the convicts have taken a hunger strike. In August of last year, the prisoners struck after President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree commuting the death sentence to life in prison for 42 prisoners. Some of the prisoners protested that they had not submitted appeals for amnesty.

In a recent press conference, it appears that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) agrees with the prisoners.

"PACE points out that the August 1 decree of the Armenian president, by which the death penalty of 42 people was replaced with life sentence, aroused their discontent," said Natalya Vutova, CE Secretary General Special Representative. "In this connection, PACE thinks that the case of each person should have been individually examined and offers the Armenian authorities to once again refer to each case and, by necessity, reconsider the verdict."

After ratifying Article 6 of the Convention on Human Rights and Basic Liberties, and at the request of last year's hunger strikers, a delegation of the National Assembly met with prisoners.

"They raised questions related to reconsidering their cases after the president's decree to specify what the continuation will be," said Rafik Petrosyan, then head of the NA commission on state legal issues. "We should arrange a meeting at the National Assembly, discuss and come to a common opinion about these issues."

According to Petrosyan, the convicts have a legitimate complaint.