"Political prisoners in the 21st century is a shame," former foreign minister of Armenia, MP Alexander Arzumanyan said in the parliament, Wednesday.
He said the authorities in Armenia deny the existence of 15 political prisoners in the country. Arzumanyan urged the Parliament to develop definition of the term "political prisoner," put it into circulation and develop mechanisms to justify and recompense the persons subjected to political persecution for the damage caused. The parliamentarian believes it natural for the parliament majority represented by the ruling Republican Party not to seek active discussions to define that term.
He said the European Court for Human Rights will complete proceedings in the case of the convicts after the March 1 incidents in Yerevan and will adopt appropriate decisions at least in 10 months.
"So far, Shant Haroutiunyan and his friends - a total of 15 people - are political prisoners," Arzumanyan said.
Simultaneously to the discussions in the Parliament, the relatives of the people who consider themselves as political prisoners were protesting outside the parliament building.
Another part of the relatives who joined the parliamentary discussions were outraged at the negligence by the pro-government officials who either left the discussions after their speeches or were not present at all.