Youth wing of Hamakhmbum party condemns Samvel Babayan's arrest
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian's Hamakhmbum (Consolidation) party condemns the arrest of Samvel Babayan, a former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army. “It [arrest] shows that they [authorities] are trying to quell the fighting spirit, aspiration to freedom and suffrage. Babayan was and remains a living example of a patriotic and dignified citizen for the young generation and we cannot allow him to stay in custody. We believe that the trumped-up charges against the Artsakh hero will burst like a balloon and all perpetrators will have to answer for their actions sooner or later. Members of the party’s youth wing, together with our supporters and non-partisan young people, are ready to use all political means, including strikes and sit-ins to defend the rights of Samvel Babayan," reads the statement. Samvel Babayan, a former top military commander of the Artsakh Republic, was arrested on March 22 on charges of attempting to smuggle a missile launcher into Armenia. According to a statement of the Armenian National Security Service, Bababyan and two other individuals attempted to smuggle an Igla shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile. The NSS said the other two persons purchased and transported the missile system on the orders of Babayan.
