Antifake staff  protesting outside CoE and UN offices in Yerevan

ArmInfo.  Employees of the AntiFake website, together with opposition deputies, held a protest outside the Council of Europe (CoE) office and the United Nations (UN) mission in Yerevan. They called on international organizations to react to the allegedly politically motivated arrests of the  Imnemnimi podcast hosts, Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Sagatelyan.

During the protest outside the Council of Europe office, Antifake  representatives expressed their disagreement with the government's  policy, which includes repressions against members of the opposition.   In this regard, they noted that the court had previously extended the  detention of Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan for three months.  In response, Samsonyan declared an indefinite hunger strike, which  has now been ongoing for six days. Participants reported that during  the hunger strike, Samsonyan was moved to a punishment cell, thereby  worsening his conditions.

The participants called on the Council of Europe not to remain on the  sidelines due to geopolitical interests, but to condemn the arrest of  the Imnemnimi hosts and demand  the Armenian authorities to take  immediate action to release them. The website's staff also expressed  their intention to continue appealing to international organizations  with this call and to take to the streets to highlight the existence  of political prisoners in Armenia.

Astghik Matevosyan, editor of the Antifake website and lawyer for  Narek Samsonyan, noted during the protest that they are expecting  international organizations not only to make statements but also to  take political actions and intervene in response to the violation of  freedom of speech in Armenia. She also reported that, according to  their information, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human  Rights will be  visiting Armenia soon and expressed hope for a  meeting with Narek Samsonyan.

Anna Mkrtchyan, MP from the opposition "With Honor" faction, told  reporters that Samsonyan's hunger strike is a defense of the rights  and freedoms of every citizen. "Today, any of us could find ourselves  in their shoes, since for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,  anyone expressing a civic position is subject to punishment," the MP  noted.

She described the only way out of the current situation as the unity  of the Armenian people and Pashinyan's removal from power. The MP  also noted that, in essence, representatives of European structures  demonstrate their reluctance to take any action by their silence.  According to her, this confirms that Pashinyan's government meets  their expectations. After handing over a letter to the Council of  Europe representatives in Yerevan, the protesters headed to the UN  office, where they delivered a second letter demanding a response to  the situation in the country and urging the Armenian authorities to  stop their illegal actions.