17:12, 13 May 2008

In Armenia, two residents of the city of Maralik go on hunger strike in support of arrested oppositionist

In Armenia, in the former district capital named Maralik, Babken Urutyan and Karapet Loretsyan announced a termless hunger strike starting May 11 with a demand to release Arutyun Urutyan and other arrested oppositionists.

Babken Urutyan demands to release his father Arutyun Urutyan, who was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment for, as participants of the protest action assert, "for a slap in the face."

It was reported earlier that on March 12 Arutyun Urutyan, head of the territorial pre-election office of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, was found guilty by the Northern Criminal Court of deliberate inflicting heavy health damage and sentenced to 7 years of freedom deprivation on charges of interfering with the elections and beating an election agent of Serzh Sarkisyan.

Babken Urutyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that they hope that the cassation complaint brought in by his father's advocate to the supreme judicial instance will be considered within the bounds of the law.

However, the demand to release Arutyun Urutyan is just a component of the demand to free all political prisoners in Armenia.

Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent