Armenia: protest action demands to release oppositional editor

Today is two years after arrest of Armand Babadzhanyan, editor-in-chief of the "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper. A group of his colleagues, journalists and NGO representatives have held a protest action today in the capital of Armenia with a demand to release Mr Babadzhanyan.

The action started at the House of the Government of Armenia, then, its participants marched to the President's Palace bringing with them A. Babadzhanyan's portrait and slogans: "Freedom to editor-in-chief!", "PACE, Armand Babadzhanyan is a political prisoner!" and "Free word means free Armenia!"

The protesters kept reminding that in reports of the US Department of State and Thomas Hammerberg, High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, as well as in reports of a number of international human rights organizations, Armand Babadzhanyan was mentioned as political prisoner. The participants of the action have also reminded that the competent bodies, despite Babadzhanyan's exemplary conduct in custody, refuse to use conditional-early release to him.

The organizers of the protest action have disseminated a statement with a demand addressed to the competent bodies of Armenia "to immediately release the editor-in-chief of the oppositional newspaper within the scope of the current legislation and give him a chance to resume his creative work."

Armand Babadzhanyan was sentenced to 3.5 years of imprisonment under Article 327 (part 2, point 2) of the Criminal Code under charges of escaping from mandatory military service through forging documents. At the moment of indictment, Mr Babadzhanyan was the editor-in-chief of the "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper.