The Hraparak newspaper writes: "Everyone knows that pre-trial detention—without a final court verdict—is used as a punishment among us, especially against Nikol Pashinyan's political opponents, critics, and opposition figures. However, it turns out that arresting people and sending them to prison is often not enough; the conditions of detention also vary from person to person.

First of all, the cells are different. As a rule, political prisoners are kept in poor cells where there are many people, sometimes even hardened criminal offenders. While ordinary criminal offenders are allowed to have a refrigerator, TV, air conditioner, and a comfortable bed in their cells, this is often forbidden for political detainees. For example, in the summer, Samvel Karapetyan was forbidden to receive any cooling device, and in the winter, he was denied even a blanket when the temperature in the cell was close to zero, and the penitentiary was not heated until December 10.

In the case of Gagik Tsarukyan, during his previous detention, he was forced to sleep on a bed half his size, which was simply impossible. We believe the same is happening now. As a rule, visits for all political prisoners are banned by the decision of the investigator or judge (in Aregnaz Manukyan's case, visits were banned even with her minor child). Visits by MPs are also blocked, and only lawyers are allowed to visit, in order to break the person psychologically as much as possible.

These additional punishments are dictated from above. The prison administration and investigators regularly inform the 'victim' that this is being done on the 'personal instruction of the first person.'"