Prime Minister`s Spokesman: Shant Harutyunyan may be released from prison at any moment

ArmInfo. From the first days of his tenure, the Prime Minister was studying Shant  Harutyunyan's issue and found out that the only legitimate lever for Harutyunyan's release and all members of his group is to change the regime of their detention, Spokesman for Prime Minister Arman Yeghoyan wrote on his Facebook page. In particular, Yeghoyan noted that it was decided to change the conditions of the detention of Shant Harutyyan and the convicted within his case Vardan Vardanyan and Liparit Petrosyan, transferring them from the half-open to the open regime, so that they in fact were set free. Vardan Vardanyan and Liparit Petrosyan took advantage of this right, however, Shant Harutyunyan refused this opportunity, demanding his complete release, "the Spokesman said.

Yeghoyan also stressed that after this Pashinyan asked to take Shant Harutyunyan to the office of the head of "Vardashen" penitentiary, and had a conversation with him on the phone. During the conversation, the Prime Minister explained to Harutyunyan that he could not afford to give instructions to the courts on any issues, since such actions would be a repetition of the behavior of the previous authorities, and asked Harutyunyan to sign documents, get out of prison and fight for his justification.

"The Prime Minister also received Shant Harutyunyan's son Shahan Harutyunyan and explained that he - Nikol Pashinyan is still considered to be accused in the case of March 1, 2008, and continues to fight for his justification." The Prime Minister also believes that such decisions should take place not according to political decrees, but within the framework of the law, "Yeghoyan wrote, stressing that Shant Harutyunyan can be released at any time, once he has agreed to sign the necessary document on the change of the regime of detention.  To note, recently the son of Shant Harutyunyan addressed the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with an open letter expressing the hope that he will soon decide the issue of the dignified release of his father from prison.

To recall, on October 31, 2013 the leader of the "Tsegakron" party Shant Harutyunyan started a sit-in strike on Freedom Square in Yerevan, and on November 5 organized the "Procession of Masks", which was dedicated to the international day of Guy Fawkes. The "Procession of Masks", which was considered part of the initiative called the "Revolution of Values", was violated by the police, there were clashes, Shant Harutyunyan and 40 of his associates were arrested.  Some of them were released later, while Shant Harutyunyan and fourteen of his supporters were sentenced to imprisonment on October 17, 2014 by the court of first instance of the Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan. Harutyunyan was sentenced to 6 years in prison.