Jailed Activist’s Heath Continues to Decline
YEREVAN (A.W.)—Member of Armenia’s National Assembly Edmon Marukyan has filed a Parliamentary petition to Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office demanding a change in the precautionary measures regarding jailed activist Arthur Sargsyan, who has been actively staging a hunger strike for the past 18 days.
A scene fromthe Feb. 27 demonstration in support of ‘The Bringer of Bread’ (Photo: Photolure)
Sargsyan, who is being referred to by many as “the bringer of bread,” was arrested in Aug. 2016 and released in December for taking food to members of the armed Sasna Tsrer group who had seized a Yerevan police station.
Sargsyan was arrested on Feb. 9 for not reporting to a case hearing after being summoned, and has been on a hunger strike in a prison hospital ever since.
In Parliament, Marukyan noted that he and fellow Parliamentarian Nikol Pashinyan visited Sargsyan, who, according to Marukyan, is in poor health. “The only way to save [Sargsyan’s] life is by changing the precautionary measure. We have prepared personal guarantee. If other lawmakers would like, they can join our initiative, which will be presented to the Prosecutor General,” Marukyan said in Parliament.
On the same day, a group of citizens held a demonstration in downtown Yerevan, demanding Sargysan’s release and calling for a change his precautionary measure.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Calls for Support of ‘The Bringer of Bread’ in Parliament, on Streets of Yerevan