Rally in Yerevan blames Armenian President for violating presumption of innocence

The Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has broken the principle of presumption of innocence by accusing Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of "Tsegakron" Party, of committing a crime, said the protesters who held their action in Yerevan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 24, during his working visit to the United States, while lecturing at the Columbia University, Serzh Sargsyan said that the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party Shant Arutyunyan had committed a crime. The statement was made prior to a court verdict.

Today, people gathered in front of the First Instance Court of Kentron-Nork-Marash, which is considering the case of participants of the action on November 5, 2013. They all – advocates, rights defenders and relatives – have treated the above Sargsyan's statement extremely negatively.

"It means that Serzh Sargsyan took over the functions of the court... Prior to any court's verdict de jure, President has decided de facto," the rights defender Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, said in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He is sure that Serzh Sargsyan "is taking revenge on Shant Arutyunyan," since the movement launched by Arutyunyan is today "the only civil disobedience" against Sargsyan's decision to incorporate Armenia into the Eurasian Union.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 5, 2013, Yerevan hosted the "Million Mask March". After the protesters entered into a confrontation with the police, Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party, and 19 other protesters were detained. Of them, 14 persons were then charged with resisting law enforcers with use of violence. On March 31, the charge was changed to the article on disorderly conduct.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly56Q_82zrY