The Armenia faction and the People`s Democratic Party (PDP) have blamed the state for the death of an opposition figure in custody.

ArmInfo. The Armenia faction and the National Democratic Pole (NDP) movement responded to the death of Arsen Gevorgyan, the Strong Armenia party's candidate for the post of head of the Stepanavan community, in the Nubarashen penitentiary institution.

The Armenia parliamentary faction noted that arrest in Armenia has long been a tool for suppressing, isolating, and punishing political opponents of the government. "Today, the consequences of this policy are already leading to irreparable human tragedies." Early in the morning of November 10, society was shocked by yet another tragic piece of news: 46-year-old Arsen Gevorgyan died in a penitentiary institution. "We are witnessing yet another human tragedy unfolding under a government that proclaims itself democratic but carries out widespread repression against opponents," the political force stated.

The faction believes that Gevorgyan's death once again demonstrates the grave human consequences of political persecution and the need for accountability for them. In this regard, it is recalled that leaders of opposition political forces and dissidents remain in prison today. "This tragedy has specific culprits—the current tyrannical government and its leader, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose actions are becoming increasingly unpunished in the absence of a response from the international community. We express our condolences to Gevorgyan's family, loved ones, and our colleagues from Strong Armenia." "in connection with this tragedy," the Armenia faction stated.

For its part, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) recalled that the state is responsible for the life and health of a person deprived of liberty. "When a citizen dies in custody, the authorities are obliged to publicly and immediately answer the following questions: under what conditions they were held, whether they received the necessary medical care, and why the tragedy could not be prevented," the political party said in a statement received by ArmInfo.

In this regard, the PDP demanded: an independent, transparent, and prompt investigation with the involvement of international observers, a public report on the causes of death and conditions of detention, an immediate health check of all political figures and opposition representatives in custody, and the provision of appropriate medical care to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. "Furthermore, we demand an end to politically motivated persecution." The protection of human life and dignity comes before political differences. A state where opposition figures die in prison ceases to be a state governed by the rule of law," the PDP concluded.

Earlier, the party's head of communications and public relations, Nelly Avetisyan, confirmed to ArmInfo that Arsen Gevorkyan died in pretrial detention. According to preliminary information, he suffered a heart attack. The penitentiary reported that Gevorkyan became ill at 7:55 a.m., and doctors confirmed his death at 8:30 a.m. The authorities assured that Gevorkyan had not previously complained of health problems. A criminal case has been opened into the death of the opposition figure. The ruling party, in response to Gevorkyan's death, merely stated that there was nothing unusual about the incident; at least four people die of heart attacks every day. The Armenian opposition, in turn, placed full responsibility for Gevorgyan's death on the government led by Nikol Pashinyan.

As a reminder, on October 21, the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia opened a criminal case against Arsen Gevorgyan, who headed the Strong Armenia party's proportional list in the Stepanavan Municipal Council elections, and 13 others. It was later reported that the court ordered Gevorgyan arrested for two months. Five others were placed under two-month pretrial detention or house arrest. It is noteworthy that the day before these events, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan offered to write to him personally to those citizens and candidates for community heads in the local government elections who were under pressure from the ruling Civil Contract party. However, by the evening of that same day, he himself began threatening opposition representatives. It should be noted that all this happened before the local government elections in Stepanavan.