Epress.am News from Armenia
The passports and visas division at the RA Police has refused French citizen of Armenian descent Sarkis Hatspanian’s application for temporary residence status, reports local daily Aravot.
According to the police division, it is Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) that objects to granting Hatspanian status.
Hatspanian can dispute the decision in court.
Recall, Hatspanian, an opposition activist and Nagorno-Karabakh War veteran, was arrested on Nov. 7, 2008, on charges of false denunciation and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
According to RFE/RL, Hatspanian came to Armenia in 1990 to join the informal military units fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. In March 2008, outgoing president Robert Kocharian revoked his Armenian residence permit in retaliation for Hatspanian’s unequivocal support for the presidential bid by former president (and current leader of the opposition bloc Armenian National Congress) Levon Ter-Petrossian in the February ballot. The opposition considers his arrest to be politically motivated and thus refers to him as a political prisoner.
Recall, prior to be released from prison, Hatspanian had sent a letter to HAK, saying that Armenia’s authorities are creating obstacles in providing him with Armenian citizenship and there is the threat that he might be deported. On May 31, HAK leader Levon Ter-Petrossian, during his speech, stated that the issue of Hatspanian’s status is an important issue for HAK and they must do everything to settle this issue. HAK had appealed to the authorities to resolve the issue and at the end of June, Hatspanian said he had received a call from the passports and visas department where he had submitted an applicaiton for a one-year residency in Armenia.