Lawyer urges opposition to act on political prisoners

PanARMENIAN.Net - Human rights advocate and lawyer Ruben Melikyan has proposed creating a special commission to address the rights and legal status of nearly 30 individuals he classifies as political prisoners in Armenia. The initiative, he says, should become part of the opposition's political agenda.

The commission, Melikyan argues, should include representatives from opposition political forces as well as independent human rights defenders, according to remarks reported by Panorama.am .

“We're currently in the idea-generation phase,” said Melikyan. “The pre-election period is the most effective time to put this into action, as political parties are wrapping up their candidate registration processes. Later, their agendas will be fully consumed by campaign priorities. I hope we can launch this initiative within the next one to two months, before the end of the year.”

He envisions the commission operating in four key areas:

• Legal: Drafting documents and reports to formally justify political prisoner status.
• International: Submitting these findings to global bodies and taking active steps internationally.
• Public outreach: Conducting media and community education on why specific individuals are considered political prisoners.
• Social: Identifying and addressing problems faced by the families of politically persecuted individuals.

While the proposal hasn’t yet received wide feedback, Melikyan said five human rights defenders are actively discussing potential actions and mechanisms.

Explaining why he believes this issue must enter the political agenda now, Melikyan cited several factors:

• A noticeable shift in how the authorities carry out political repression, with what he sees as lowered thresholds for persecution.
• The case of Archbishop Mikael, whom he described as being targeted by the state due to his prominence in the Church, which the authorities allegedly view as an obstacle.
• The need for more structured efforts to engage international organizations.
• The upcoming elections, which could provide a platform to push this agenda forward.

He rejected the government's claim that only politically active individuals can be considered political prisoners. Instead, Melikyan emphasized that the motive for persecution, political in nature, is what defines the status.

Referring to Archbishop Mikael's case, he said: “There’s no recent precedent in the past 2–3 years of someone over 60 being imprisoned for a moderately serious offense. The goal is clear — to attack the Church, and neutralize one of its defenders. That is a plainly political motive.”

Previously, Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of the I Have Honor faction, also spoke on the issue, stating that the presence of nearly 30 political prisoners points to authoritarian practices within Armenia’s current regime.