“Legal terror is happening in Armenia,” stated lawyer Ara Zograbyan, former head of the Armenian Bar Association, at a press conference on October 24.

As an example, he cited the recent summons and arrests of clergymen.

“They came to homes early in the morning, frightened families, conducted searches, and confiscated phones and tablets from children,” Zograbyan listed. In one case, involving Mkrtych Srbazan, the authorities did not even disclose his location.

“Violations of this scale have never happened before. Under the two previous presidents, there were violations, but not on this scale. Those presidents feared society and the press; these people fear nothing and are shameless,” the lawyer noted.

Zograbyan said that lawyers were prevented from seeing the summoned clergymen for several hours, only to later find out that they had the status of witnesses. Despite this, the individuals were not released and were interrogated without their lawyers present, as the investigative body did not allow legal representation.

“This is a depressing fact and a serious regression in the protection of human rights. A person was arrested for telling another person, ‘Vote for whoever you want, just not for Nikol.’ When I asked the investigator, ‘Is that a crime?’ he said yes.

Regarding Archbishop Natan Ovannisyan, it is clear that the recordings were made by security services. They published them and are trying to legitimize the recordings through interrogations. And no one is initiating a case regarding the illegal wiretapping. All of this will lead to dire consequences,” Ara Zograbyan concluded.