RAFFI HOVANNISIAN: SHAMEFUL STIGMA OF "POLITICAL PRISONER" SHOULD BE ERADICTED IN COUNTRY

Noyan Tapan
Jun 20 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Official petitions signed by the
members of the RA National Assembly "Heritage" faction were filed,
with the request to release Alexander Arzumanian, Zhirayr Sefilian
and Vardan Malkhasian from preliminary detention during their trials.

NT was informed from the press service of "Heritage" that the petition
concerning the former Armenian foreign minister A. Arzumanian was
filed to the RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, while petitions
concerning the leader of the social initiative "Protection of
Liberated Territories" Z. Sefilian and the member of the political
board of the "Fatherland and Honor" Party V. Malkhasian – to Judge
Mnatsakan Martirosian.

In this connection the leader of the faction Raffi Hovannisian sent a
letter to the speaker of the National Assembly Tigran Torosian and all
deputies, asking them to put their signatures and join the appeal for
release of "the three". "In the coming years of our public service,
we should eradicate the shameful stigma of "political prisoner",
also its theory, practice and even phenomenon in our country,"
R. Hovannisian said.