The subject of “Aravot” online “Face to Face” talk-show is discussed between the member of Founding Parliament Karo Yeghnukyan and a member of “Hayazn” party Armen Aghayan.
Aram Abrahamyan – The fact that the members of Founding Parliament are released, does this mean that the government no more fears them?
Karo Yeghnukyan – I would not say so. The fear for the Founding Parliament exists over many months. The arrest was the culmination, the last act, but it started long before Berdzor when the cars were burned, an assault was made over Gevorg Safaryan, which can be described as an attempted murder because no one knows what the outcome of hitting the head with a blunt instrument will be. No criminal case was opened as an assassination attempt. As you know, a case of stabbing happened in Gyumri, which is again an assassination attempt, and again it was not described as such. Releasing is more the consequence of the fact that we closely monitored the case and had applied to various instances in Armenia and outside of Armenia. The fact that the “Human rights watch” issued a statement, it was the result of our actions
A. – Or else, would they keep them?
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Ye. – I think they would be still kept because the Investigation have started to work intensively at that time, 28 investigator were actively working, and many members of the Founding Parliament, also followers and adventitious people were invited to the Investigation Office. Four hours was spent on each of them, they were interrogated, they were trying to put a sign of equal between the mass disorders and civil disobedience, which legally is wrong.
- A. – How will you interpret why they were released?
Armen Aghayan – I cannot make predictions about the causes of releasing them. It is evident that the case was a nonsense in terms of criminality, and the likelihood was great that it was to be left half-done not to get to the European Court. As to when it would be left half-done, it was a matter of choosing the date. Were they afraid of the Founding Parliament or not or the “100 years without the regime” movement, I think that they both do and do not fear? In other words, they do not fear that should the members of the Founding Parliament be released, they would immediately do a revolution. However, of course, they fear that something could have happened on April 24 that would undermine their show because the government authorities were also using the April 24 for other purposes. There are many other circumstances, probably, they were suspecting that something shady is getting prepared, something underground. Therefore, they probably gathered these 28 investigators, but perhaps they did not find anything, and it made no sense to hold them. May 9 could be problematic because Jirair’s name is somehow associated with this day in the campaign plane, and it was not worth of making a fuss that day.
A. – User Hovik Afyan is asking, “Don’t you think that the official justification for the release of Sefilyan and his friends are more ridiculous than the arguments for detention?”
Ye. – The prosecutor announced that the case is continuing, and the criminal case is not dismissed because the accusations, as he says, are grounded and they, so to speak, continue the investigation. We can understand that soon they will turn to the court. Their explanation is that the danger that existed passed away, consequently, being in jail they do not represent a danger. It’s really funny because there was also nothing before to catch hold of.
The complete discussion below.
Prepared by ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
“Face to Face” talk show series are released by the Open Society Foundations- Armenia. The views and analyzes found in this broadcast express the opinions of the participants and are not approved by the Open Society Foundations-Armenia, or its Board. This broadcast is made available thanks to comprehensive financial support by the Open Society Foundations-Armenia, under the mass media support program, grant No 18624.
