Armenian Ombudsperson slams denial of legal counsel for  detained supporters of Strong Armenia party 

ArmInfo. Armenian Ombudsperson Anahit Manasyan has responded to the situation regarding the obstruction of lawyers' access to detained members and supporters of the Strong Armenia party.

Accordoing to the Office of the Human Rights Defender (HRD) of  Armenia, on April 16, they received several reports from lawyers that  their clients had been detained and taken to the Anti-Corruption  Committee of Armenia. They were not being provided with the  opportunity to meet with them and provide appropriate legal  assistance. "As a result of measures taken by the Office of the Human  Rights Defender of Armenia and discussions with the investigative  body, lawyers were granted access to the Anti-Corruption Committee  building, thereby realizing the right of individuals to legal  assistance. The Human Rights Defender continues to monitor the  situation and considers it necessary to once again emphasize the key  importance of the right to legal assistance and the need to ensure it  properly  for all detained individuals," the Office of the Human  Rights Defender of Armenia noted.

As ArmInfo previously reported, this morning, more than a dozen  supporters of the Strong Armenia party were detained. Party  spokesperson Marianna Ghahramanyan told reporters that, according to  her sources, 15 party members have already been detained and charges  are currently being filed against one of them.  She also said that  based on the information they have, the arrests were related to a  case involving violations of the law on conducting charitable  activities during the pre-election period.