Ashotyan is a political prisoner: Human rights activist refuted  Armenian parliament speaker`s statements with evidence

ArmInfo. Human rights activist and former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan has presented evidence that  Armen Ashotyan, the deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is a political prisoner.

In response to the remarks made by the Armenian parliament speaker  Alen Simonyan, who claimed that there are no international reports  confirming the fact that Ashotyan is a political prisoner in a  conversation with journalists, Melikyan cited two important  resolutions from European and  global political organizations as  evidence to the contrary.  "The first of these resolutions was  adopted on November 14, 2023 by the European People's Party (EPP):   "Supporting Political Prisoners in Europe in Times of Increasing  Autocracy." In this document, Ashotyan's case was highlighted as an  example of political persecution," the lawyer wrote on his Facebook  page.  The human rights activist then recalled the resolution of the  Centrist Democratic International (IDC-CDI), from April 9, 2024,  which also touched upon the issues of political persecution in  Armenia and specifically mentioned the case of Armen Ashotyan.  "  Armenia's issues, including the blatant facts of political  persecution, can no longer be concealed with rudeness, whining, lies,  and idle talk," Melikyan concluded.