I can’t say whether courts will maintain their high reputation, but I hope so because, unlike the law-enforcement system which has almost completely turned into a repressive system, we see judges make adequate and reasonable decisions and behave adequately and reasonably every now and then. This is what co-founder of Quartet Media Arman Saghatelyan told reporters today, touching upon the detention of former chief of staff of the National Assembly of Armenia Ara Saghatelyan.
According to Arman Saghatelyan, the judiciary is the institution that is currently trying to go against the political orders and cheap shows.
When told that the detainees are high-level experts and asked if the fact that they are targeted by the authorities is by chance, Saghatelyan said the following:
“I can say that Karen Bekaryan and Ara Saghatelyan are major analysts with many years of experience in their respective fields. Azerbaijani propagandists have been afraid of them for a long time, and the detention of these two has already sparked great excitement in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis welcome the fact that they are detained.”
Arman Saghatelyan added that this is a process of political repressions and that the authorities are trying to silence and isolate the analysts.
The court is currently examining the appeal of Ara Saghatelyan’s attorney against the decision on his detention.
The National Security Service of Armenia has detained former chief of staff of the National Assembly Ara Saghatelyan, co-founder of Quartet Media Karen Bekaryan and manager of the office of International Center for Development of Parliamentarism NGO Mher Avagyan. They are detained under particular articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia (inciting national, racial or religious hatred; an organized group making public calls for use of violence, publicly justifying or advocating violence; violating the rules for publication or dissemination of information during the legal regime of martial law).