Armenian law-enforcement authorities have given no indications that they will set free a man who went on a hunger strike almost one month ago to protest against coup charges levelled against him. Reports Azatutyun.am (RF/RL’s Armenian service).
The jailed man, Nerses Poghosian, was taken into custody following the arrest on June 20 of Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of the Founding Parliament opposition movement.
Sefilian was charged with acquiring large quantities of weapons and forming an armed group to seize government buildings in Yerevan. He denies the charges as politically motivated.
Poghosian is facing similar charges carrying between three and eight years’ imprisonment. He too flatly denies them, saying that he does not even know Sefilian personally and has never been affiliated with Founding Parliament.
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The father of three went on a hunger strike 28 days ago after Armenian courts refused to order his release.
Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian implied late on Tuesday that despite the continuing life-threatening protest his law-enforcement agency has no intention to meet Poghosian’s demands.
“The prosecutors periodically address the grounds for keeping all individuals in pre-trial detention, including Nerses Poghosian’s case,” Davtian told reporters. “It is Nerses Poghosian’s right to attract attention in this way.”
