Does Swiss President recognise Shant Harutyunyan and Volodya Avetisyan as political prisoners?
A group of citizens today gathered outside the Presidential Compound in Yerevan to thank President of the Swiss Confederation Didier Burkhalter, who is in Armenia on an official visit. Armenia-based Law and Support Foundation had earlier addressed a letter to Mr Burkhalter, requesting him to recognise jailed activist Shant Harutyunyan, leader of "Tseghakron" party, and imprisoned reserve Colonel Volodya Avetisyan as political prisoners. “Apparently, in his reply letter Mr Burkhalter admitted that the aforesaid people meet the criteria for what defines a “political prisoner," says Gagik Sarukhanyan, Head of the Foundation and coordinator of the group campaigning for the defense of arrested Colonel Volodya Avetisyan. In reply to A1+’s question whether Didier Burkhalter would discuss the issue during his meeting with Serzh Sargsyan, Mr Sarukhanyan said, “There is not such a person in Armenia who was a political prisoner and was recognized as such by the country’s authorities. We are convinced that in Europe, specifically in Switzerland, there is a top official who values human freedoms and can raise the issue in the Council of Europe.”
