ArmInfo. The verdict of the court against the hero of the Artsakh war Zhirayr Sefilyan is a political reprisal. Nikol Pashinyan, head of the Elk faction, told journalists on March 23.
Pashinyan noted that the false judicial system makes false verdicts, and there is nothing to be surprised. The MP also said that to tolerate this situation is not in the style of the "Elk" faction, and stated that he intends to fight the current political system in order to change the situation in the country in all areas.
The vice speaker of the parliament, the Republican Party's press secretary Eduard Sharmazanov, in a conversation with the ArmInfo correspondent noted that there were no political prisoners in Armenia, and that all court decisions are exclusively legal. "There can not be any political violence in this case, there was never any political motivation in this trial." Judges in Armenia render all decisions based solely on the materials of the case," Sharmazanov stressed.
The secretary of the faction of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" party Aghvan Vardanyan stated that no one forgets about the heroic past of Zhirayr Sefilyan, however "different politicians show themselves differently at different periods of their life." At the same time Vardanyan refused to give any assessment to the verdict of the court regarding his former party member.
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.