ArmInfo. The practice of politically motivated detention is widespread in Armenia. Lawyer Aram Vardevanyan wrote about this on his Facebook page, noting that Armenia currently has numerous political prisoners.
He expressed his conviction that Armenia's goal is to fill its penal institutions with people. As an example, he cited the situation surrounding Samvel Karapetyan, the head of the Tashir Group of Companies and a Russian businessman of Armenian descent, who has been in prison for over five months.
"Imagine: Samvel Karapetyan has been in prison for over five months, and 53 investigators, numerous prosecutors, and a number of judges, ignoring the law and the rule of law, demand and choose pretrial detention as the only preventive measure. In reality, there is no basis for this case other than the fact that he has been illegally arrested for over five months," Vardevanyan noted. The lawyer noted that the "supposed purpose and objectives" that arrest could achieve could well be achieved by other preventive measures, but it is a fact, a long-established fact, that in Armenia, detention is used only for political reasons. Therefore, he continued, detention is not a preventive measure established by the Criminal Procedure Code, but is determined outside the law, based on a political goal.
"Our society is still shocked that a philanthropist, clergy, and National Assembly member Artur Sargsyan from the Armenia faction, among others, could be subject to lengthy arrests. Moreover, the only female political prisoner in Armenia, Lidia Mantashyan, a member of the Sacred Struggle movement, has been in custody for five months. The founders and hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, have also been arrested again for their odious statements," Vardevanyan emphasized. The lawyer reiterated that, in essence, in Armenia, despite the availability of alternative pretrial detention measures, the courts cannot afford to use them. "That's why we must not despair for a moment; we must not doubt that the law, even in this absurd, tyrannical approach, must prevail. Freedom for all political prisoners!" Vardevanyan concluded.
As a reminder, more than 30 people have already been arrested in Armenia for political reasons for their stance in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), which is under attack by the current authorities.
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