Yerevan: protesters demand to release Ashot Minasyan

In Yerevan, oppositionists held an action in support of Ashot Minasyan, a veteran of the three Karabakh wars. Investigators have stopped prosecuting Minasyan under articles on plotting an attempt on the life of the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and on an attempt to usurp power, leaving only the charges of illegal weapons possession, the protesters have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2020, the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia detained Ashot Minasyan, the leader of the "Ashot Erkat" volunteer detachment along with other suspects of preparing an attempt on the Armenian Premier and an attempt to usurp power. Later, all the suspects were released. A year later, on December 1, 2021, the appellate instance satisfied the complaint of the prosecutor's office and arrested Minasyan. Human rights defenders treated his arrest as political. On December 2, an action was held in Yerevan demanding the release of Minasyan with account of his health problems.

The Armenian society should remember the people who are persecuted by the authorities for their political viewpoints, Armen Ashotyan, a deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, has stated.

In Armenia, arrests are being used to punish dissidents, said Ruben Melikyan, a co-founder of the NGO "Legal Way" organization. He has recalled that Minasyan was arrested only on charges of illegal arms possession.