Oppositionist Shagen Arutyunyan goes on hunger strike in Yerevan

Shagen, a 17-year-old son of the convicted leader of the "Tsegakron" Party Shant Arutyunyan, has announced his hunger strike in Freedom Square in Yerevan. The activist demands to release political prisoners.

"We should attract public attention to the problem of political prisoners in Armenia," the young man told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Shagen Arutyunyan believes that the authorities are carrying out repressions by isolating dissidents. According to his story, his protest will last until August 21. All this time, he intends to stay day-and-night in the place of his hunger strike, using a sleeping bag at night.

"I had to resort to extreme measures, as there are few ways to deal with the arbitrariness of the authorities. This is a message to the public that the struggle is not over," he said.

Let us remind you that Shagen Arutyunyan was sentenced to 4 years of conditional imprisonment in the case of the "Million Mask March". He was also detained by the police in connection with oppositional protests after the capture of the building of the patrol-and-post police regiment in Yerevan.

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