Larisa Alaverdyan, a former Human Rights Defender, thinks that the verdict of the trial court of the Kentron and Nork Marash administrative districts to condemn the ANC activists to 2-6 years is too strict.
She said that she was not aware of the merits of the activists’ case, but taking into account the fact that the youths had not committed a crime before, the court should have decided on a milder punishment. She considered the court’s decision as a deliberate action not only against the ANC, but also against the whole society, “It is directed against a representative of the society, they try to cut them down to size to some extent.”
In Ms. Alaverdyan’s words, the ANC activists will be considered as prisoners of conscience in the international reports, “The international organizations make the following assessments – if criminal or civil proceedings are started against someone and that person is considered to some extent as a representative of a political force or as a political or social figure, it is perceived as political persecution. The international reports will necessarily mention this case.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
