“Strong Armenia” held a protest in front of the EU office in Yerevan, demanding a response to the death of an opposition figure in custody

ArmInfo.  Deputies of the “Strong Armenia” faction, their associates and supporters held a protest rally outside the representation of the European Union (EU) in Yerevan over the death at the “Nubarashen” penitentiary institution of Arsen Gevorgyan, the political force’s candidate for the post of head of Stepanavan.

Speaking to journalists, Arega Hovsepyan, a deputy of the “Strong Armenia” parliamentary faction, noted that the rally participants are calling on the EU to respond to what is happening in Armenia, in particular, to the process of retreating from democratic principles and the intensification of political persecution. “Once again, we have witnessed the death of an opposition figure in custody. Gevorgyan was there because he held opposition views. We demand an end to criminal prosecution based on political affiliation. Arrest has turned into a cudgel in the hands of this government. Since 2018, the number of motions for arrest in the country has tripled, and most of them are granted,” Hovsepyan pointed out.

In turn, Marianna Kagramanyan, a deputy of the “Strong Armenia” faction, explained that the main goal of the rally was to convey the participants’ demands to the EU representation in Yerevan, personally to EU Ambassador Vasilis Maragos, as well as to other organizations engaged in the protection of human rights. “We are here to show that there is a crisis of democracy and human rights protection in Armenia today, and that political persecution has reached the point of leading to tragic consequences,” Kagramanyan noted.

She said that, on behalf of the faction, they were handing over a letter providing an objective assessment of the situation. “We believe that European institutions can no longer remain indifferent to what is happening in Armenia. Earlier, Gevorgyan’s group of lawyers issued a statement saying that after he complained of deteriorating health, it was not a prison doctor but a nurse without the necessary training who approached him. This circumstance must be recorded. If everything had been done properly, perhaps the tragedy could have been avoided. Responsibility for what happened lies with the country’s political leadership, in particular Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as Minister of Justice Srbuhi Ghalyan, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan and Judge Armen Grigoryan,” the deputy added.

In addition, she said that during the rally, Harutyun Harutyunyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Armenia on European Integration, contacted the EU ambassador. During the conversation, he presented the ambassador with the reasons for holding the rally and their demands to the European institution.

Earlier, Nelly Avetisyan, the party’s head of communications and public relations, confirmed to ArmInfo that Arsen Gevorgyan had died in a detention facility.  According to preliminary information, he suffered a heart attack. The penitentiary institution said that Gevorgyan became ill at 07:55 a.m., and doctors recorded his death at 08:30. The authorities assured that Gevorgyan had not previously complained of health problems.  A criminal case has been opened over the death of the opposition figure. The ruling force, responding to Gevorgyan’s death, merely stated that there was nothing unusual about what had happened, as at least 4 people die of heart attacks every day. The Armenian opposition, in turn, placed full responsibility for Gevorgyan’s death on the authorities headed by Nikol Pashinyan.

It should be recalled that on October 21, Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee opened a criminal case against Arsen Gevorgyan, who headed the proportional list of the “Strong Armenia” party in the elections to the Stepanavan municipal council, and 13 other individuals. It later became known that, by court decision, Gevorgyan was arrested for a period of two months. Another 5 people were placed under two months of pre-trial detention or house arrest. Notably, one day before these events, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had invited those citizens and candidates for community heads in local self-government elections who were facing pressure from the ruling “Civil Contract” force to write to him personally. But by that evening, he himself began threatening representatives of opposition forces. It should be noted that all of this occurred ahead of the local self-government elections in Stepanavan.