Armenia pledges action on political detainees
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 27 January 2009 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenia pledges action on political detainees, 27 January 2009, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4982d6c1c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 27, 2009
Unrest surrounding the February 2008 elections led to the arrests of many opposition members
STRASBOURG – Armenia has pledged to enact an amendment that could result in the release of detained opposition members, improving the government's prospects of avoiding sanctions from the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.
Some 60 opposition politicians and activists are imprisoned in Armenia, many of them jailed during the unrest following the February 2008 presidential election. PACE has demanded the release of oppositionists it identifies as political prisoners.
PACE is scheduled on January 27 to debate its Monitoring Committee's recent recommendation to suspend the voting rights of Armenian members because of the Armenian government's failure to release all political prisoners.
According to Armen Rustamian, a member of a visiting Armenian parliamentary delegation, officials in Strasbourg feel Armenia now has the "political will" to fully comply with PACE resolutions demanding the release of political prisoners. He said PACE will revisit the issue at its next session in April.