Armenian rights defenders support Khachaturyan sisters

Armenian activists have joined the international solidarity action in support of Khachaturyan sisters, accused of killing their father. The public should not remain indifferent to manifestations of domestic violence, the participants of the action in Yerevan have stated.

The Khachaturyan sisters from Moscow were detained at the age of 17, 18 and 19 years on suspicion of killing their father in July 2018. Their defenders claim that the sisters' actions were caused by their father's violence, the portal "Dozhd" (Rain) wrote on June 22.

On June 24, an action in support of Khachaturyan sisters was held in front of the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. Solidarity actions were also held in Barcelona, Bonn, Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw, New York, Helsinki, Munich, Vancouver, Valencia, Kharkov and Saint Petersburg.

During the action, several dozen activists chanted "Freedom!" in the Armenian and Russian languages. In their hands, they held posters depicting Khachaturyan sisters with the hashtag #FreeKhachaturyanSisters.

The public should not stay indifferent to manifestations of domestic violence, Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The girls should know that they have support. They have been subjected to violence for several years, including, judging by their stories, also of sexual nature," Ms Karapetyants has stated.

However, she has noted that the sisters should be punished, but the punishment should be proportionate.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 25, 2019 at 07:05 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.