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Dangerous situation for Armenia: Shant Harutyunyan and his jailed supporters should be at large (video)

Politics
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A policeman should be a model for citizens, says former political prisoner Azat Arshakyan. He says last November’s incident involving jailed political activist Shant Harutyunyan and the ensuing jail terms given to Harutyunyan, his underage son and ten other supporters were the continuation of a well-planned scenario. “The prison term of his underage son, Shahen, was illogical and ungrounded. Since our police officers do not go to theatres they do not know that Laertes and Hamlet were not to kill each other,” he said. Karine Hakobyan, President of the Reform NGO, agreed with Azat Arshakyan and added, “The sentence passed upon Shant and his friends further deepened the gap between the authorities and society.” “This situation is dangerous for Armenia. Turning the protest action into a show and then sentencing the protest leader to prison is simply inadmissible,” said Avetik Ishkhanyan, the Chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia. The international law says if a march is peaceful, the police should not interfere with it. This was severe revenge on Shant sent as a warning to others. If they continue to stay in jail, it will be a stigma for all Armenians.”