Mikaelyan Might be Released Between 3–4 pm Today. Also Waiting for Pashinyan

According to our sources, Sasun Mikaelyan will be released between 3 and 4 pm today. The process of getting the paperwork in order is currently underway.

Mikaelyan’s friends and family, as well as members of the opposition bloc the Armenian National Congress (HAK), are currently gathered outside the Hospital for Detainees of the RA Ministry of Justice in Yerevan in anticipation.

According to the Epress.am correspondent on the scene, the same situation reigns outside Artik penitentiary, where already more than 100 people have gathered in support of Nikol Pashinyan, including his wife and two children, HAK activists and representatives of the newly opened Artik branch of the Armenian National Congress.

Attempts for any information from prison staff have thus far been unsuccessful. They have refused to comment on the time of the release of the two men, which is expected following a general amnesty approved by the Armenian parliament Thursday.

A festive atmosphere reigns at Artik, reports the Epress.am correspondent. Loud music can be heard from the vehicles parked outside the prison.

Note, Pashinyan was among several prominent opposition figures who went into hiding in March 2008 following a government crackdown on supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian demanding a re-run of a disputed presidential election.

He surrendered to the authorities in July 2009 and was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of stirring up “mass disturbances” in Yerevan that left ten people dead. Sasun Mikaelyan was likewise imprisoned for a possible connection to the events of March 2008. The Armenian National Congress considers the case politically motivated and refers to both men as political prisoners.