Ashot Chtrkyan, convicted for espionage for Azerbaijan, goes on hunger strike in Armenian prison

Ashot Chtrkyan, sentenced for espionage in favour of Azerbaijan, has declared an indefinite hunger strike in the penitentiary institution "Nubarashen", demanding to reconsider the unjust, according to him, verdict.

On April 6, the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan community of Kentron and Nork Marash considered reasonable the charges of treason, filed against Ashot Chtrkyan, and sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment. Together with him, Karen Mekhrabyan and Romik Matevosyan were the defendants in the case of espionage. In accordance with the verdict, Karen Mekhrabyan was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment, and Romik Matevosyan to 10 years of imprisonment.

The hunger strike of Ashot Chtrkyan became known from his lawyer Arutyun Bagdasaryan. "Ashot protests against unfair judicial verdict. He is also indignant at the fact that he was not allowed to file a motion for the investigation into the case on appeal proceedings," the "Panarmenian.net" quotes the lawyer as saying.

After conviction of her son, Anait Chtrkyan, the mother of Ashot Chtrkyan, repeatedly held protest actions and appealed to the authorities of the country to take measures to reconsider the verdict, which she treats as quite unjustified.

On October 26, she appealed to the President of Armenia with a letter, in which she called the case "totally fabricated". "My letters did not reach their destination, and nobody hears me, since they are afraid of losing their jobs," the "Express.am" quotes the letter to the mother of the convicted man. The edition emphasizes that this is the 16^th appeal of Anait Chtrkyan to the authorities of the country after the conviction of her son.