U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been informed about political prisoners in Armenia, the head of the Asparez club Levon Barseghyan told NEWS.am. He participated in Mrs. Clinton’s meeting with civil society representatives in Armenia. “I mentioned that there are 14 political prisoners in Armenia, an investigation into killings of ten demonstrators during the March 1, 2008 events has not been carried out yet and the details remain unclear. I spoke of widespread corruption in Armenia,” he said.

According to him, Hillary Clinton took his statement into account, noting she is aware of the situation in Armenia. During the meeting with Clinton, the President of the Helsinki Association Mikael Danielyan touched on the state of human rights in the country, pointing out a low level of human rights protection. He added that the issue of human rights should not be treated from the political and geopolitical viewpoints. Statements on media freedom and pluralism were also voiced.

Hillary Clinton’s meeting with civil society representatives took place at the Cafesjian Foundation. Participating in the meeting were representatives over 25 NGOs, including the Asparez club of Gyumri, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, Helsinki Association, Helsinki Committee, Yerevan Press Club, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation.