Armenia: protesters demand to release imprisoned ANC activists

An action demanding to release four activists of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), convicted for hooliganism and disobeying the police, was held today in Yerevan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 20, 2012, the ANC activists Tigran Arakelyan, Artak Karapetyan, David Kiramidjyan and Sarkis Gevorkyan were sentenced to terms ranging from two to six years in prison.

About 30 ANC supporters gathered today in front of the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia. The protesters said that the arrest of Tigran Arakelyan and the trial of all the activists were political in nature.

According to Alek Gevorgyan, a member of the youth wing of the ANC, protests are yielding fruit.

"On August 9, 2011, in connection with an incident between the police and ANC activists, nine people were arrested. It was due to our protest actions that five were released, and the prosecution began only in respect of the remaining four," he said.

Gevorgyan has added that it was due to the protests that three activists were under home arrest pending the entry into force of the sentence. "This is an unprecedented decision for Armenia," he said.

Levon Zurabyan, Deputy Chairman of the ANC, was generally positive in assessing the actions of young people; however, he noted that the authorities had introduced their agents into the ranks of the activists, who try to soften the demands and slogans of the protesters.