WILL OBAMA USE HIS INFLUENCE?

9/nikol-pashinyan
03:20 pm | October 19, 2009

Politics

The Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners today sent
an open letter to the presidents of the USA, France and Russia.

Your Excellencies, The trial of prominent Armenian journalist,
editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak daily, Nikol Pashinian starts
on October 20, 2009.

On March 1, 2008, Armenia’s authorities carried a gruesome and inhuman
act using violence against peaceful demonstrators, shooting and
injuring hundreds of unarmed people and killing at least ten. They
dispersed the demonstrators protesting against election frauds and
violence.

Following the deadly clashes a state of emergency was imposed in
Armenia accompanied by restrictions of mass media, mass arrests of
opposition members and illegal persecution of thousands of activists
and supporters of the opposition.

Nikol Pashinian, who went in hiding after the March 1 events and
surrendered to law- enforcement agencies on July 1, 2009, is illegally
kept in prison and now stands trial on trumped-up charges of organizing
mass riots.

Your Excellencies,

Hundreds of trials have heard in Armenia. Information about these
shameful processes can be obtained from the ambassadors of your
countries and the competent international organizations.

So far, the results are as follows:

1. No killer has been brought before court up to the present day

2. the charges filed against opposition (usurpation of power) have
been refuted

3. 30 political prisoners have been pardoned under pressure of the
opposition and international organizations

4. 17 political prisoners, including one French citizen are still
kept in custody

5. Dozens of innocent convicts, try to administer justice through
the European Court of Human Rights after having exhausted all means
to achieve justice in their country,

Excellencies, Today, when your countries have combined their efforts
to resolve the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-Turkish
relations, by a strange coincidence, your countries and international
organizations have stopped the pressure on the regime of Serzh
Sargsyan aimed at restoring democracy in Armenia and releasing
political prisoners.

We are under the impression that an immoral bargain has been concluded
and you close your eyes to flagrant and massive violations of human
rights and obvious facts of defiance of democracy, in return for
concessions from Sargsyan’s regime.

Based on the foregoing, on behalf of relatives of the March 1 victims,
on behalf of thousands of Armenian citizens, victims of tyranny
and political persecution, we demand that you use the international
prestige of your country and your personal credibility and make the
Armenian authorities respect the rights and freedom of its citizens.

Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners