The parliamentary candidate Nikol Pashinyan’s rights were violated from the very beginning, as he was to have been released immediately after he was registered by the district election commission, ANC Chairman Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated at a rally in support of a parliamentary candidate in the by-elections in Election District #10.

The reasons advanced by Chairman of the RA Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) Garegin Azaryan that the CEC’s consent to Pashinyan’s arrest was not at all necessary – he was arrested before being registered as a parliamentary candidate – can hardly be considered sound. “An official, including the CEC Chairman, can only perform duties under law without commenting on them. Under the law a parliamentary candidate can be under arrest only with the CEC’s consent,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

The ANC leader called the Armenian authorities “stupid and short-sighted,” as they did not even failed to keep up their own image and proved unable to realize the need for releasing Niko Pashinyan during the election campaign. “They would with pleasure silence us, but they want to cause as much pain as possible to their opponents,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

“Although Nikol and another 14 of our companions are still in prison, we are in a festive mood. I do not ant our struggle to be nervous. The longer we struggle the more valuable will be our victory,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

Besides Nikol Pashinyan, two other candidates are running for Parliament in Election District #10, Ara Simonyan, a relative of Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan, and the Marxist David Hakobyan. Nikol Pashinyan is charged with organizing riots during the post-election period in 2008. The Prosecution demands an 8-year imprisonment for him. The verdict is to be returned on January 19.

T.P.