Human rights advocate Artur Sakunts asked Mikayel Danielyan, the chairman of the Helsinki Association, a question, in response to his annoyance that no human rights advocate had come to the trial regarding a criminal case against Arman Veziryan, a member of the
association, “I would ask Mikayel Danielyan where he was he when the protests of The Army in Reality were taking place. But I will not say that he doesn’t deal with that issue, this is an issue of politeness.” Mr. Sakunts explained that yesterday, during Veziryan’s trial, they were not sitting on their hands, “At that very time, I was engaged in legal processes, it was a demand to open a case against the Attorney General’s Office and the warden of the Nubarashen Correctional Facility, which I have been making for a year and a half already. I don’t comment on what Mika Danielyan says, it is his opinion, if a representative of the government had said that, I would have expressed my opinion, but if Mika Danielyan thinks so, it is his opinion. It is not the first time there are such phrases, surrounding people can assess whether it is polite or not. I don’t make any assessments of such phrases used by my colleagues; deeds are important for me.”
Mr. Sakunts said that they were ready to support Veziryan and they would include the Veziryan case in their upcoming report on the state of human rights advocacy and human rights advocates in the South Caucasus.
Read also
As for the accusation against Veziryan that he hadn’t introduced himself during a quarrel of the Manukyans because of handing out campaign materials, had not been wearing a badge, Sakunts said, “Veziryan shouldn’t have introduced himself and no citizen should have done that. It is an obvious persecution of a human rights advocate; it is an obviously false accusation, because they redirected the accusation against Veziryan during the criminal case to silence him. It is an ordinary practice of law-enforcers.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
