Avetik Ishkhanyan says Jirayr Sefilyan is political prisoner (video)
“Jirayr Sefilyan was arrested on unfounded, trumped-up charges,” human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan said on June 22. He is surprised that political forces not affiliated with the government refrain from assessing the arrest and say they had better follow the unfolding of events and trial. “They seem to have come down from heaven and do not know how the judicial system functions in Armenia! It seems they do not know that everything is ordered there,” he said adding that he considers Jirayr Sefilyan to be a political prisoner. Avetik Ishkhanyan is ready to apologize if it is proved that he is wrong in his opinion. “This is a political persecution against a man who does not reconcile himself to the acting authorities like other political forces. He [Sefilyan] is a true devotee who wants to change the situation in Armenia with his vision,” human rights activist said. Jirayr Sefilyan, a Karabakh war veteran and opposition activist, was arrested on June 20 on charges of illegal arms possession.
