21:56, 23 May 2017

Shagen Arutyunyan sent to a psychiatric examination

Shagen Arutyunyan. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the 'Caucasian Knot'.

Shagen Arutyunyan, who was sentenced to four years of conditional imprisonment in the case of "Million Mask March" in Yerevan, reported that he was sent to a psychiatric clinic for examination and treated it as pressure on him.

According to his story, he was sent to the clinic for three days within the military medical commission. The military commissariat found his previous conviction as the reason for sending him to mental examination, the activist himself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Million Mask March", held in Yerevan on November 5, 2013, ended with clashes of its participants with the police. The organizer of the march Shant Arutyunyan, the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party, his son Shagen and 12 other activists were convicted to fines or imprisonment terms of up to seven years.

Shagen believes that mental clinics are used in Armenia as a means of pressure, as it was in the Soviet Union.

"In Soviet times, my grandfather's brother was kept at such clinic for six months for his dissent and the idea of Armenia's independence. My father was twice placed there for his political views, but all the attempts to exert pressure on them failed: they were both found healthy. Now, it's my turn," said Shagen Arutyunyan.

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

Author: Tigran Petrosyan

Source: CK correspondent