Former Armenian MP Naira Zohrabyan, speaking during a protest outside the Human Rights Defender’s office over the hunger strike and health problems of “Imnemnimi” podcast co-host Narek Samsonyan, said she had appealed to the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies.

“I have appealed to the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe and to the rapporteur on Armenia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I have also contacted all political committees of the Council of Europe. They see and record everything, and thank me, although in closed meetings they say they understand what is happening but cannot speak because of geopolitical issues,” Zohrabyan said, according to Panorama.am .

She recalled tragic cases from previous years.

“I remind you that in January 2019, after a 44-day hunger strike, editor Mher Yeghiazaryan died as a result of exhaustion and irreversible health problems,” she said.

Zohrabyan cited another case, stressing that neglect toward people with health issues is systemic.

“It is the 11th day that Narek Samsonyan has been on hunger strike, and the Ombudsman, neither personally nor through any rapid response group, has visited the penitentiary or obtained any information about Narek’s health,” she stated.

She added that Samsonyan had been hospitalized the previous day at the Echmiadzin Medical Center with heart-related problems.

“The fact that under these conditions European institutions, which Nikol once called ‘Euro-darlings,’ will remain silent is understandable to me, because they have a clear rule. Nikol Pashinyan is an ideal instrument for them to advance their political interests in our region against Russia,” Zohrabyan said, adding that “Narek’s condition can become critical and irreversible at any moment.”

Supporters of Narek Samsonyan, who has been on hunger strike for 11 days, have been holding protests outside the Human Rights Defender’s office, bringing food and placing it on the steps to draw attention to his condition.

On January 9, a court granted the prosecutor’s motion to extend the detention of hosts Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan by another three months, after which Samsonyan announced an open-ended hunger strike.