Former Foreign Minister urges foreign ambassadors and international human rights organizations to draw urgent attention to the troubling situation of political prisoners in Armenia

ArmInfo. Former Foreign Minister  of Armenia Vartan Oskanian has forwarded a letter to foreign  ambassadors accredited in Armenia, as well as international human  rights organizations, urging them to draw urgent attention to the  troubling situation of political prisoners in the country.  The  letter reads as follows: 

"I write to you with deep concern about Armenia's accelerating  descent into authoritarianism and to urge your immediate and public  engagement with the Armenian authorities regarding the growing number  of political prisoners in the country. Today, more than two dozen  individuals-including parliamentarians, opposition leaders, civil  society activists, businesspeople, and two senior clergymen of the  Armenian Apostolic Church-are imprisoned not for any credible  criminal acts, but for voicing dissent against the government's  policies. Their prolonged pre-trial detentions, often lacking  compelling legal justification, constitute a clear violation of both  Armenian law and international human rights standards.

This is not an isolated incident. It reflects a deliberate and  systematic campaign of political repression.  Armenia's judiciary has  increasingly come under the control of the executive. Legal  institutions, once supported by Western aid to foster democratic  governance, are now being weaponized against critics. The press,  though nominally free, faces mounting political and financial  pressure. Independent civil society is shrinking. And perhaps most  disturbingly, the Armenian Apostolic Church is under sustained attack  through arrests, public defamation, and bureaucratic harassment-a  campaign that threatens to fracture the civilizational fabric of our  society. Despite these alarming developments, most of you have opted  for silence or strategic ambiguity rather than principled engagement.  Continued public praise for Armenia's so- called "democratic  resilience" now risks enabling further repression.

I therefore urge you to speak out-publicly and jointly-on the issue  of political prisoners in Armenia.  Raise this matter directly with  the authorities, issue clear official statements, and consider  conditioning democratic support programs on measurable progress  toward judicial independence, due process, and political pluralism.  Now is the time to act-before the democratic promise that Armenia  once held is lost for an entire generation. I respectfully urge you  not to remain silent."