MONITORING GROUP VISITS DETAINED OPPOSITIONISTS, SAYS THEY ARE DEPRIVED OF MANY THINGS

14:16 | April 8,2015 | Politics

Members of a monitoring group today visited Yerevan Detention Facility
of the RA Police Yerevan Department to see the six members of the
radical opposition Founding Parliament group, who were arrested on
April 7 and charged with planning to organize ‘mass disturbances.’

The detainees did not express any complaints about the Facility or
conditions there. Only Founding Parliament Pavel Manukyan started a
hunger strike as a sign of protest against the illegal detention. The
group also found out that the detained activists were not allowed to
see their family members or make telephone calls. The investigative
body also restricted their right to communicate with the outside
world – something incomprehensible for the monitoring group. Nor can
the detainees use a radio or read newspapers.

Several members of the radical opposition Founding Parliament
group were detained on April 7. The Investigative Committee of
Armenia said the detentions took place within the framework of a
criminal investigation conducted in connection with possible ‘mass
disturbances’ planned during public events scheduled for April 24 –
the day when Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the centennial
of the Armenian Genocide. Jirair Sefilian, Varuzhan Avetisyan, Gevorg
Safaryan, Aram Hakobyan, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, Pavel Manukyan, Garegin
Chukaszyan are among the detainees.