Armenian rights defenders demand to punish persons responsible for Arthur Sargsyan's death

Arthur Sargsyan, a supporter of the opposition, fell victim to ill-treatment. This opinion was voiced by Armenian rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". They believe that the responsibility for his death should be borne by the investigator, the supervisory prosecutor and the judge who ordered to arrest the activist.

On March 16, Arthur Sargsyan died in a hospital after a 25-day hunger strike, which he declared in protest against his repeated arrest on the charge of assisting members of the "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sassoun).

According to the statement of the Armenian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, the death of Arthur Sargsyan was the result of another gross violation of human rights in Armenia.

The statement notes that the repeated arrest of Arthur Sargsyan, given his serious illnesses, gives grounds to treat him as "a prisoner of conscience" and criminal prosecution against him as politically motivated.

Larisa Alaverdyan, the chair of the NGO "Against Legal Arbitrariness", the first Ombudsman of Armenia, believes that the consequences of the case will be unprecedented, since that will not only make it possible to punish the people responsible for the Arthur Sargsyan's death, but also to pay compensation to his successors.

Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Assembly, believes that investigators had no legal grounds for the repeated arrest of Arthur Sargsyan.

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