16:10, 30 October 2025

Protesters in Yerevan demanded the attention of European Parliament members.

A rally in support of political prisoners took place against the backdrop of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly plenary session in Yerevan. Participants expressed hope that MEPs would intervene.

A protest in support of political prisoners in Armenia and citizens held in Baku is taking place in front of the National Assembly of Armenia. The Youth Wing of the Republican Party of Armenia initiated the rally.

"We have gathered here today to support the political prisoners held in Yerevan and Baku. European structures are silent about this, but we will not remain silent. We expect concrete action. Priests and philanthropists have been arrested in Armenia," said one of the organizers of the action, according to the Armenian Report.

According to him, another political prisoner was added to the list the day before – the head of the Masis community, David Hambardzumyan, who was arrested the day before at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport.

On April 22, 2018, during the "Velvet Revolution" in Armenia, a group of masked men attacked supporters of Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan's Erebuni district. The attackers were armed with batons, stones, and stun guns. According to the victims, the police did nothing. On May 31, Masis Mayor David Hambardzumyan, his deputy Karen Ohanyan, and three others were arrested in connection with this case. On June 1, they were charged with organizing mass riots. On October 23, the Yerevan Criminal Court sentenced Hambardzumyan to six years and three months in prison. On October 28, police arrested David Hambardzumyan at the Yerevan airport, where he arrived from Moscow.

"Our compatriots are being tortured in Baku prisons. The last institution that could have somehow addressed these people's problems, visited them, and maintained contact with their families—the Red Cross—no longer operates in Azerbaijan. We are your silence," Garnik Danielyan, an MP from the Armenia bloc, addressed members of the European Parliament.

Double standards operate in the country's judicial system. The MP emphasized that the harshest measures are being applied to the opposition.

Anna Mkrtchyan, an MP from the opposition "I Have the Honor" faction, stated that the lack of attention from European institutions and officials is clearly no coincidence. She called on the head of the European Delegation to Armenia to visit the arrested priests, philanthropists, mayors, and those who gathered in Gyumri Square to express their dissent.

Members of the European Parliament observed the protesters' speeches from the courtyard of the National Assembly, the publication writes.

Earlier, "Caucasian Knot" reported that the protesters in Yerevan demanded that the UN facilitate the release of Ruben Vardanyan. The organization is obliged to facilitate the release of Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners, activists stated.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416792