Rights defenders demand to punish policemen for detention of Argishti Kiviryan

In Armenia, 20 NGOs treat as illegal the actions of policemen in the course of detention of Argishti Kiviryan, a coordinator of the agency "Armenia Today".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 31, Argishti Kiviryan was detained in Yerevan. He was kept at a police station for two hours on suspicion of wearing cold steel arms. However, law enforcers found no prohibited items. Ashot Agaronyan, the chief of the press service of the police, has explained that "policemen took a bunch of keys for weapons," and the Argishti Kiviryan's refusal to show the contents of his pockets increased their suspicions.

The incident with Argishti Kiviryan is regarded by NGOs as political persecution. NGO members called the journalist's arrest as a "flagrant violation."

The NGO statement was signed, in particular, by the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, the Educational Centre "For Equal Rights", the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, the "Union of Informed Citizens", and the NGO "Journalists for the Human Rights".

The authors of the NGO statement note that Argishti Kiviryan voiced sharp criticism of the political system of Armenia.

They have also added that "such police actions are incompatible with the principles of a democratic and legal state.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.