Epress.am News from Armenia
Human rights defender, head of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor office Artur Sakunts has received death threats from a Facebook user. Speaking to Epress.am on Tuesday, Sakunts said a user named Ashot Avanesyan commented on one of his Facebook posts from June 2, threatening to shoot him in the face.
The aforementioned post reads: “There is one thing I don’t understand: so you kill at least 10 people in broad daylight (the deathly dispersal by the Armenian riot police of an opposition camp in central Yerevan on March 1, 2008), imprison others for years, deprive them of their property and their homes, force hundreds of thousands to leave the country just to escape your unpunished injustice, and you still dare to bark against those critical of your inhuman policies through your henchmen?
“Have you gone completely insane? Or do you think that the people will continue to put up with your looting and guzzling, and nothing will ever change?
“Tell your henchman correspondent, whatever he is – an adviser, a blogger who writes posts in social media for money – to shut up.
“Or do you lack the courage to appear in the public field personally? Those who’ve crossed the line of correctness call for correctness; come to your senses.”
A Facebook user registered with the name Ashot Avanesyan, seemingly outrage by the human rights defender’s words, left the following comment: “Sakunts, pro-Azerbaijani saboteur, I will kill you! You are Aliyev’s agent… Wait for me every second. I’m not one of those who shoot in the back. I’ll shoot you in the face, from a 2-3-meter distance, with a 9mm bullet. Wait for me, Sakunts!”
The human rights defender, who has already reported the threat to the office of Armenia’s Prosecutor General, told Epress.am that he is convinced the author of this comment has allies in the police and is perhaps carrying out an order.