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.