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SEFILIAN’S DEPORTATION - A SERIOUS ISSUE FOR THE LEBANESE EMBASSY

Politics

Today in defence of Zhirayr Sefilian the latter’s relatives and friends staged a protest action at the Lebanese Embassy in Armenia. As it turned out the employees of the Lebanese Embassy were as much concerned about Sefilian’s probable deportation from Armenia as his relatives and friends were.

Some of the protesters were kindly accepted by Ibrahim Assaf, temporary envoy of the Lebanese Ambassador to Armenia.

“Zhirayr Sefilian is a citizen of Lebanon and we must consider the fact. Our Embassy is aware of Sefilian’s problem and the Ambassador has been visiting him in the detention cell”, informed Ibrahim Assaf.

Noting that the Embassy is not competent to interfere in the affairs of Armenian authorities, the Envoy promised to raise the problem through diplomacy and philanthropy.

“We know that the Armenian authorities have turned to the Administrative Court with the request to deport Zhirayr Sefilian from Armenia but we have received no official notice proving the fact. We learnt about it only through mass media”, states Assaf. “The Armenian authorities were to have come to an agreement with the Lebanese Embassy about the deportation of Sefilian since he is a citizen of Lebanon. Besides, according to the Armenian Constitution if the citizen has under-age children in the given country he cannot be deported from there.”

By the way, as Zhirayr Sefilian’s wife is an employee of the Lebanese Embassy to Armenia, her husband and children have the right of at least temporary residence in Armenia and the possibility of his deportation is once again excluded.

“I sincerely hope that Sefilian’s problem will be solved and his family will not suffer”, said Ibrahim Assaf and promised that the Embassy would continue to give humanitarian aid and support to its citizen.

In defence of Zhirayr Sefilian another protest action was staged at the French Embassy in Armenia. Sefilian’s friends sent an open letter to the Ambassador with a request to demand that the Armenian authorities stop violating Sefilian’s rights.