Citizens  protest outside  EU Delegation in Yerevan demanding   response to  detentions of opposition bloggers

ArmInfo. Supporters of the Imnemnim podcast and staff of the fact-checking and reporting website Antifake gathered outside the EU Delegation in Yerevan to  deliver a letter to EU Ambassador to Armenia Vassilis Maragos  regarding the arrest of opposition bloggers Narek Samsonyan and  Vazgen Saghatelyan.

The protesters noted that Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan have  already been in custody for 23 days. With this protest they are  attempting to draw the attention of the EU Embassy and international  organizations to the ongoing legal abuses and the high number of  political prisoners in the country.  Expressing dissatisfaction with  the silence of international organizations, the demonstrators believe  this is due to  geopolitical priorities.

Lusine Arakelyan, the wife of the arrested Narek Samsonyan, told  reporters that she does not expect a response from EU  representatives, as all detentions are essentially taking place with  their tacit consent. She also mentioned that the US Embassy in  Armenia, where they had previously lodged a complaint, has not yet  responded to the situation. "The inaction of these structures has led  to arbitrary actions by the Armenian authorities. This silence is  perceived by the Armenian authorities as tacit encouragement of their  actions.  However, despite this, I will continue to fight," Arakelyan  stated, calling on the families and other political prisoners in  Armenia to speak out. Antifake editor Astghik Matevosyan recalled  that after law enforcement searched their office on the day the  "Imnemnim" podcast hosts were detained, all their equipment, even the  unusable, was confiscated. She stated that this significantly  complicated the operation of their website, and despite it still  being operational, they continue to face challenges.

Lawyer Ruben Melikyan stated that with this action, they aim to draw  attention to the shameful inaction of international organizations. In  this regard, he noted that the values that the European Union has  promoted in Armenia for decades have now led to the presence of  political prisoners in the country.