Vahe Avetyan’s sister issues letter
Open letter of Nvard Avetyan
"This is an appeal to all people of good will. We, the citizens of Armenia and its former residents, can no longer tolerate the atmosphere of arbitrariness and impunity in Armenia.
My brother, Vahe Avetyan, was beaten to death by a direct order of the oligarch, President of Armenia's Football Federation Ruben Hauyrapetyan nicknamed "Nemets Rubo" (German Rubo").
Not regaining consciousness, Vahe Avetyan died in a Yerevan hospital 12 days later, on June 29th. He was head of a unit of the Military Hospital at the Yerevan Garrison of the Defense Ministry.
The cruel beating of Vahe Avetyan, an Armenian citizen and an officer of the armed forces, and the resultant death have created an atmosphere of disappointment and despair among Armenian citizens and further deepened their unease about the future of their own country.
The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act (the "Magnistky list"), passed by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2012, imposes visa and banking restrictions on Russian officials implicated in human rights abuses.
We call for making a new list to be called the "Avetyan list" imposing sanctions on Armenian officials implicated in human right abuses.
We are still working on that list and we demand that the U.S. government, international human rights organizations, and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted a proposal on imposing visa and banking sanctions on those Armenian leaders who bear responsibility for Vahe Avetyan's death and human rights abuses in Armenia.
All criminal oligarchs of Armenia and their criminal accomplices must be stripped of their diplomatic immunity and their right to leave the country».
