Today RA Defender of Human Rights Armen Harutyunian had a phone conversation with Public Defender of Georgia Sozar Subari. During the conversation Armen Harutyunoan expressed anxiety over the recent explosions in Javakhk and the murder of the two Armenian policemen and its consequences.

Lluis Maria de Puig, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, today announced that the PACE resolutions have fixed time-limits for Armenia and if the September 4 and September 11 reports do not state any positive shift, consequences might be “disastrous” for Armenia.

Today the Criminal Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of Yerevan Criminal Court concerning Karen Tarkhanian’s case on 1 March events. Tarkhanian is accused under Article 225. As the accusation says, he has been raining curses on policemen and distributing clubs to protesters.

The precautionary measure applied to Deputy Director of the Matenadaran Arshak Banuchian (detention) has been substituted by an undertaking not to leave Armenia.

In conjunction with the Presidential Elections 2008 various political figures were and still are under persecution. One of them is former RA Prime-Minister Hrant Bagratian, against whom a case was brought by former President of the RA Central Bank, Prime-Minister Tigran Sargssian.

Chairman of the HHSh Board Ararat Zurabian who is presently in detention has recently suffered from headaches, blood pressure and heartbeats. A1+ has just been informed that upon the order of RoA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian a prosecutor studying administration of punishments and compulsions visited Ararat Zurabian to learn the latter’s health state.

During a July 21 press conference Serzh Sarkissian made two important discoveries. He said unwilling to start a dialogue with the opposition. Besides, he is not going to meet the public demand to set the political prisoners, says member of the Centre for Popular Movement Levon Zurabian.

On the hundredth day of office Armenia’s Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian referred to his achievements, failures and further steps.

“It is not excluded that Armenia might be left out of the European family,” the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Luis Maria de Puig, said during a meeting with the Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party on July 23.

The Armenian leadership ignored the numerous appeals of international structures and human rights activists calling for a pre-term release of Arman Babajanian, editor-in-chief of “Zhamanak Yerevan” and “Zhamanak Los Angeles.”

A protest action will be staged in front of the Armenian Consulate General in Glendale at 11.00 on July 29. The action is organised by the U.S. Supporting Centre for Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrossian.

On July 17 and 21 members of the “Heritage” Party sent inquiries to the RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, Chief of Police Alik Sargsian, Head of the Office of Supervisory Services at the President’s Office Hovanes Hovsepian and Director of the RA National Security Service Gorik Hakobian, asking if the newspaper reports on election fraud, election bribes, and other violations during the...

oday in the Kentron and Nork-Marash General Jurisdiction Court initiated the trial of Smbat Ayvazian, Member of the political board of the “Hanrapetutiun” Party, who has been detained since February 24.

Protesters have grown a new custom in Northern Avenue. Every day members of the All Armenian Movement acquaint passers-by with biographies of the political prisoners and the real cause of their detainment. The first “lesson” was dedicated to Grigor Voskerchian, Vardges Gaspari and Gurgen Yeghiazarian. Remember that yesterday former Deputy Head of the National Security Service (NSS) Gurgen Yeghiazarian was set free.

Today the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued the following statement: "The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzylakov of the Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza of the United States) welcome the constructive engagement of Presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan following their June 6 meeting in St. Petersburg and the Co-Chairs' June 27-28 trip to the region.

The restraint of Gurgen Eghazarian, ex deputy minister of the National Security, has been reviewed by the order of Armenia’s Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian.

On July 21 a news conference was held at the presidential office dedicated to the 100th day of Serzh Sarkissian's presidency. Most questions concerned the relations between Serzh Sarkissian and Robert Kocharian and the rumoured influence of Robert Kocharian on public administration.

“The Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party has received an invitation to participate in the National Congress. The party is to give an answer on July 25,” Zharangutiun's Press Secretary Hovsep Khurshudian said on July 21.

“I think Armenian courts treat all citizens committing offences very mildly,” Serzh Sarkissian said in reply to A1+. We wondered what measures the Armenian authorities take with regard to the PACE recommendation to free all those detained under Articles 300 and 225 of the RoA Criminal Code.

“One hundred days is too short to expect fundamental changes from a president of any country. President’s post is really an important and responsible one,” Speaker of the RoA National Assembly Tigran Torossian shared the opinion on Serzh Sarkissian’s 100-day office upon the request of journalists.

Lusine Sahakian, Erwand Varossian and Tigran Safarian, the advocates of the ex-deputy prosecutor Gagik Jhangirian, and Vahe Ghazarian sentenced to a 4.5 years' imprisonment for “mass disorders”, have lodged applications with the European Court of Human Rights on breaches of the rights to freedom and personal immunity (Article 5 of the European Convention).

The Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners will henceforth attend all events organised by the political prisoners' wives.

“If Serzh Sarkissian does not meet the demands posed by the opposition at a recent rally the opposition will raise the issue of Sarkissian’s resignation during an August 1 rally,” member of the political board of the Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party, Suren Sureniants, told a press conference on July 18.

Turkey and Armenia held a series of secret meetings in the capital of Switzerland on July 8, Hurriyet daily reported. A high-level official from the Foreign Ministry headed the Turkish delegation during the talks which led to a “positive atmosphere” between the two countries, reports the newspaper.