Wednesday, March 21 2018 16:44

ArmInfo.Six public organizations  of Armenia issued a statement expressing their concern over the  severe verdict of the court of general jurisdiction of Armenia  against the hero of the Artsakh war Zhirayr Safilyan and his  associates accused of illegal storage and use of weapons and  ammunition.

In particular, the statement reads: "Political persecution against  Jirayr Sefilyan began in 2014. It was enough only to get acquainted  with the material evidence in court to imagine what we are dealing  with.  Among the items considered in court as evidence, In  particular, there were: a rusty sword, 2 assault rifles, 100 bullets,  2 hats made of wool, yellow helmets, the flag "100 years without  regime", a megaphone, a Christmas tree, a military compass, a  notebook with a picture of the Garni temple, etc. Thus , it is  impossible to speak about a fair trial We admit Zhirayr Sefilyan and  his associates as political prisoners, we appeal to the international  community and structures outside of Armenia and declare that there  are political prisoners in the country.We are human rights  organizations and declare that we will do our best not only to free  Zhirayr Sefilyan, Gevorg Safaryan, Nerses Poghosyan, Hrair Topchyan,  Sasunik Kirakosyan, Galust Grigorian, but also other citizens who  were sentenced for political reasons."

This statement was joined by the NGO Helsinki Committee of Armenia,  the Armenian Program of Innocence, the Vanadzor office of the  Helsinki Civil Assembly, the Asparez Journalism Club, the  Atticorruption Center Transparency International, and the Open  Society Foundations - Armenia.

It should be noted that Zhirayr Sefilyan, the hero of the Artsakh  war, known for his opposition, was sentenced to 10.5 years of  imprisonment on March 20, his companion-in-arms Gevorg Safaryan to 5,  the remaining accused for 4 years of imprisonment. Sefilyan, was  accused of illegal acquisition, storage and use of weapons and  ammunition. Sefilyan himself regarded the trial of him as a political  reprisal.  International experts also revealed numerous violations of  the law in the course of the trial in the case of Sefilyan. In  support of Sefilyan, public organizations of the Diaspora and  Armenia, as well as the Heritage party, also spoke.