ARMENIAN POLICE BRIEFLY DETAIN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE’S SUPPORTERS

Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Feb 6 2008

"Arrested but released"

The police have launched another illegal campaign of oppression against
[opposition presidential candidate] Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters,
residents of Ararat town, the head of the first president’s [Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s] Ararat campaign headquarters, Hakob Grigoryan,
has said.

He said that in the morning of 2 February five police officers
arrested Ararat town residents Artur Avetisyan, Artak and Gagik
Ziroyan, Samvel Avlishoyev and Murad Sadoyan. They were brought to
the Ararat town police station, then to the Vedi town police station,
and then back to the Ararat police station. All this process lasted
until 1400 [1000 gmt], after which they were released.

Grigoryan also said that these people had been apprehended for various
reasons and only at the police station they were told that the case
concerned their political activity and they were advised not to display
activity. Yesterday the police took Murad Sadoyan to a police station
again for distributing leaflets about Ter-Petrosyan’s visit planned
for today.