Epress.am News from Armenia
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organization in Armenia, the Civil Society Institute (CSI), welcome the release of political prisoners in Armenia, according to a statement published on the FIDH website today.
“On numerous occasions, the international community urged the Armenian government to stop politically motivated persecutions, investigate into the events — when 10 people were killed — and to release the opposition activists who were arrested after. At the occasion of the FIDH 37th World Congress which was held in Yerevan a year ago, all FIDH’s member organizations reiterated through the statement of FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen, the recommendation to conduct a credible and effective investigations on the cases of the ten people killed and met with their families.
“‘Releasing political prisoners and conducting such investigations would be a true sign of moving towards effective Rule of Law in Armenia,’ stated Souhayr Belhassen in Apr. 2010. The same request was submitted to the [Armenian] President [Serzh] Sargsyan when he received the FIDH high profile delegation on Apr. 6, 2010.”
The FIDH statement concluded by expressing their hope that Sargsyan’s call for a more thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, will be “promptly followed by concrete steps in this regard. Our organizations also call to provide the relatives of ten victims of March 1 events the adequate reparation they have been waiting for since 2008.”
Recall that mass protests against alleged electoral fraud followed the presidential election of Feb. 19, 2008, in Armenia. On Mar. 1, 2008, national police and military forces, called in to disperse the crowds, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded.