ArmInfo. Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov is a representative of the regime that killed "Food Bringer" Arthur Sargsyan, representative of the Yelq bloc, Armenian lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference in Yerevan on March 17, when responding to Sharmazanov's statement that the opposition is trying to use Sargsyan's death to get additional dividends in the run-up to the parliamentary elections.
To remind, Arthur Sargsyan, the man who delivered food in summer 2016 to the Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoon) group occupying a police compound in Yerevan, died on March 16 ten days after being released from prison following a 25-day hunger strike. He passed away at Armenia Medical Center in Yerevan, where he underwent bowel surgery the previous night. According to the head of the intensive care unit of the hospital, "acute heart and lung failure" was the likely cause of Sargsyan's death. To recall, in July 2016 Sargsyan drove his car through a police cordon to deliver food to the armed members of Sasna Tsrer group during their two-week standoff with security forces. He surrendered to them on July 31 along with the remaining group members holed up in the compound. Sargsyan was arrested and charged with aiding the Sasna Tsrer group. Armenia's Special Investigative Service agreed on December 31 to free him pending trial due to his deteriorating health condition. The suspect suffered from several chronic diseases. The Special Investigative Service (SIS) again detained him on February 9, saying that he ignored a summons from SIS officials investigating the standoff which left three police officers dead. Sargsyan went on a hunger strike in protest against his detention. The Office of the Prosecutor-General ordered Sargsyan's release only after opposition parliamentarians posted bail for him on March 6. He was transported from a prison hospital to the Armenia Medical Center, from which he was discharged several days later. "Let Mr. Sharmazanov specify the addressees of his statement, then I will respond to him. Such allegations are simply irrelevant, because since the very first days of Sargsyan's detention we have been fighting for sooner and immediate release," Pashinyan said. He stressed that if Sargsyan had been released on Feb 13 - the day when they filed their first request to the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office - Sargsyan would be alive today.
At the same time, Pashinyan noted that the authorities are the authors or co-authors of everything bad happening in Armenia. "Let both Sharmazanovs and Serzh Sargsyans run into a brick wall by blaming us for trying to earn dividends on Arthur Sargsyan's death," Pashinyan said.
To note, after Sargsyan's death Eduard Sharmazanov made a statement, saying that in the run-up to the parliamentary elections the opposition is trying to earn dividends on the death of the "Food Bringer".