Elderly women detained in Gyumri over election violations

PanARMENIAN.Net - Four citizens, including women over 70, 80, and 90, were detained in Gyumri on March 30 around 3 p.m. on suspicion of election violations. However, law enforcement did not permit legal representatives to visit them until 10:20 p.m., according to the Initiative of 5 Human Rights Defenders.

Human rights advocates stated that the delay in allowing legal access contradicted legal norms.

“We affirm that the behavior of law enforcement is not only unlawful but also clearly political, seemingly intended to delay the refutation of Civil Contract’s propaganda narratives. Addressing the moral aspect is almost redundant,” the statement reads.

Lawyer Arsen Babayan reported on Facebook that, thanks to the swift intervention of the Human Rights Defender’s Office, the identity of the investigator handling the case of Anahit Khalatyan, a candidate from the Our City alliance in Gyumri, was established.

“With the rapid response of the Human Rights Defender’s staff, we finally managed to identify the investigator in the case of Gyumri’s Our City bloc candidate, Anahit Khalatyan,” he wrote.

According to Babayan, Anahit has now been transferred to a temporary detention center. He is awaiting formal authorization from the investigator to visit her.

He also intends to meet with the detained 70-year-old woman, stating, “I’m now waiting for the investigator’s permit to visit the 70-year-old woman who was detained.”

The Central Electoral Commission has released preliminary results from the March 30 local snap elections. In Gyumri, no single party secured a majority, making coalition building necessary. A united opposition could elect an opposition mayor. In Parakar, four political forces participated: Civil Contract (Ludvig Gyulnazaryan), Unity Alliance (Volodya Grigoryan), National Progress Party (David Minasyan), and Stability Party (Gor Saribekyan). Unity Alliance, including the Country to Live Party, claimed victory for its candidate, Volodya Grigoryan.