Daniel Ioannisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, wrote on Facebook that reporting violations to the state “is not shameful, but honorable.”
“Shout, cry, call me a snitch, but whether it’s tomorrow, in a month, five years, or ten, if we have information about an electoral crime, we’ll report it again and again, and demand a proper investigation,” he wrote.
“And we don’t care who the offender is—a priest, a police officer, a locksmith, the government, the opposition, or my own brother (whom I don’t have). We’ll report it and do the right thing.”
“That is part of our mission. We do not act according to trends or political leanings when fighting violations.”
He concluded: “Yes, reporting a legal violation to the state is not shameful, but honorable.”
The post was published after Ioannisyan’s organization submitted a report demanding an investigation into statements by Father Aram, who allegedly spoke about coercion to attend a public rally.
In response, human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan criticized Ioannisyan, saying he fails to follow up on the actions of law enforcement following his complaints. “You don't monitor how the authorities act illegally against the clergy, how they deny them the right to defense, how they bar lawyers from entering the Investigative Committee, or how no one knows where the Aragatsotn Diocese leader has been taken,” she wrote.
