A. Manukyan: Who will cut the branch he is sitting on?
Activists of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party continue their Friday protests in front of the Prosecutor General's Office, demanding the release of opposition activists.
ANC MP Aram Manukyan says he would be surprised to know that the Special Investigation Service had launched a criminal investigation based on his report questioning the legality of the property of Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan.
"It is the same as giving a saw into their hands and ordering them to cut the branch they are sitting on. We have to deal with systematized mafia which includes courts, prosecutor's office, municipality and government," said Mr Manukyan.
The ANC member today submitted a report with the prosecutor's office on abuses in the amount of $ 10 million.
"This system is already rotten and we will see progress before autumn," he said.
ANC activists Tigran Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, Artak Karapetyan and David Kiramijyan were taken into custody after an August 2011 standoff with police officers in a Yerevan park. They were charged with hooliganism against a representative of law-enforcement body and sentenced to 2-6 years in prison. Arakelyan received the longest prison sentence for what the Armenian police say was a key role in the incident. The three activists were later released with only Tigran Arakelyan remaining in prison. All the four activists denied police claims that they had attacked law-enforcement officers maintaining public order in the city center. The Court of Cassation has remitted the appeal back to the Court of Appeals for review. ANC considers Tigran Arakelyan to be a political prisoner.
