STATEMENT OF THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Support A1+!On the evening of September 9, the police brutally dispersed and took into custody a group of women participating in a hunger strike, which had been properly registered with the Yerevan Mayor’s Office. The group of six women had also duly informed relevant international institutions of their decision to launch a hunger strike, demanding the release of political prisoners.
During the action the police also illegally arrested Vladimir Karapetian the former spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, currently a representative of the Armenian National Congress. Mr. Karapetian and the hunger strike participants were later released without having been presented with any legal grounds for their arrest. The police also violently attacked journalist Emma Gabrielyan of the daily newspaper Zhamanak Yerevan, smashing her recorder and camera.
The continuous unlawful actions by the authorities and repression targeting representatives of the opposition demonstrate the true intentions of the government. While making public statements about democratic values and reforms directed at foreign audiences, here in Armenia the regime is becoming more authoritarian by the day, showing less and less respect for basic human rights and its citizens’ inalienable right to freedom of expression. We strongly condemn such behavior and call upon the government to act in strict accordance with its international obligations and the law.
