Epress.am News from Armenia
Vardan Geravetyan, a members of the Sasna Tsrer anti-government armed group, has ended his hunger strike in Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison, Geravetyan’s lawyer, Davit Gyurjyan, wrote on his Facebook page.
The lawyer also posted Geravetyan’s message regarding his decision: “Our aim was to inform our people of the currently present issues. Ending the hunger strike does not mean giving up on the struggle. We are still vigilantly following the events in our country and are prepared to stand by the long-suffering and tormented Armenian people.”
Recall, Geravetyan had gone on a hunger strike in late July to demand a transfer to an individual cell. The prisoner had also reported that members of the armed group were being subjected to hate propaganda.
“From the very first days of our arrest, the idea began to spread that the authorities wanted to announce grants of clemency but did not do so because of Sasna Tsrer. Thus, they’ve been trying to sow hatred between Sasna Tsrer members and other inmates. In addition, with the beginning of our trial, they began carrying out frequent searches, particularly in the cells where members of Sasna Tsrer are held, which could lead to tension and possible consequent clashes in the future. Despite the fact that there have always been good-neighborly and even warm relations between Sasna Tsrer and other prisoners, it is obvious to all of us that [the aforementioned steps] are being taken intentionally, in order to provoke discontent among the exceedingly overwrought prisoners, who have ended up in the claws of so-called justice,” Geravetyan had said in a statement published by his lawyer Davit Gyurjyan.