Speaking at a session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights, and Democracy in Yerevan, European Parliament member and Turkey rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor emphasized that Armenia must address internal issues as an EU candidate country.
He noted that the issue is not the closed border with Turkey, but what is currently happening inside Armenian cities.
“If someone is being prosecuted for corruption… but if they are being prosecuted for their opinion, for example, posts on social media, be careful, pay attention,” Sánchez Amor cautioned. “We know what happens when you start accusing and persecuting people just for writing something online.”
He stressed that restricting free expression is unacceptable for a country seeking EU membership.
Meanwhile, the legal team of Samvel Karapetyan released a statement by internationally renowned lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, declaring that “any reasonable judge can see that Samvel Karapetyan has done nothing illegal.”
Robertson stated that the actions taken against Karapetyan blatantly violate fundamental human rights and freedoms, and that his continued detention is clearly unlawful.
