Daredevils of Sasun Member On Hunger Strike for Three Weeks; His Condition Not Improving, Lawyer Says

Armen Bilyan, a member of the Daredevils of Sasun armed group who has been on a hunger strike for over 3 weeks, is suffering from serious health issue, his lawyer, Armine Fanyan, told Epress.am on Tuesday.

“He is a in an extremely bad state; his blood pressure is very low, but he is refusing to end the hunger strike until his demand of proper medical treatment in a civilian hospital is met. He also wants to be transferred to the Armavir jail since his cell in the Nubarashen prison is unlivable,” Fanyan said.

Note, Armenia’s Human Rights Ombudsman’s office today issued a statement, saying that the three hunger striking Daredevils of Sasun members – Arayik Khandoyan, Armen Bilyan and Smbat Barseghyan – are in need of a constant medical supervision.

“Representatives of the Ombudsman’s office visited my client during the holidays and again on January 8. Nothing has changed. They visit him, make notes about the situation, write appeals to the Ministry of Justice, but to no avail. The Ombudsman’s intervention has not even been able to improve the situation, which is already an assessment in itself,” Fanyan stated.