Dear Friends,
A friend of mine is good friends with the daughter of the described political prisoner below, Ashot Manukyan. Please take a moment to cut and paste the letter below into an email to the suggested recipients (also found below). We must put pressure on the government of Armenia to free the political prisoners and to hold them accountable for killing innocent protesters. Please join me in standing by them and take a moment to ask for Ashot's release. Thank you kindly.
Please read below....
Support Human Rights in Armenia:
Free Ashot Manukyan
Armenian human rights activist Ashot Manukyan has been detained without charge by the police for the last 5 days. Ashot was exercising his right to peacefully protest the recent Presidential election in Armenia. On March 1st police clashed with demonstrators and fired on the unarmed crowd, killing 8 people. Ashot Manukyan was lucky to have escaped being killed, however he was abducted by security forces and has been held without charge or access to legal counsel. His family fears he may be in immediate danger of being tortured and sentenced to prison without a fair trial.
Background
On February 19th 2008, citizens of Armenia went to the polls to vote for a new president. After the election many member of the opposition party took to the streets of Yerevan, the capital city to protest what they believed were widespread violations of elections laws including intimidation of voters and stuffing of ballot boxes.
Several thousand people descended into the capital Yerevan’s Freedom Square to peacefully protest. For nearly a week and a half, despite the authorities closing most roads to the capital and instructing the state-owned media to ignore the demonstrations, the rallies attracted tens of thousands each day. By all accounts, foreign and domestic, the protests were peaceful and orderly. There was never any sign of violence or unlawful calls for action, just calls for the Armenian Election Committee to annul the results and instate a fresh poll.
Each night up to three thousand people would camp in Freedom Square to continue the demonstration until the next day. On the 10th night, March 2nd, the authorities crept in at dawn and began to beat, tear gas, and abduct the protestors. The actions were brutal against the unarmed citizens. The opposition candidate and his government supporters were arrested. The demonstrators started to assemble in a nearby part of the city. Here the scene deteriorated.
According to Human Rights Watch: “(..) some witnesses said the confrontation culminated with security forces opening fire on demonstrators. Gunfire could be heard for over a half-hour echoing throughout the center of the city. Officials put the death toll at eight, but witnesses said the final count was probably much higher”.
All of those killed, according to police, died from gunshots. Several eyewitnesses report snipers firing randomly into the crowd. Chaos followed as citizens armed literally with sticks and stones fought fully armored government troops. A state of emergency was been imposed which has outlawed all information not sanctioned by the government. Habeas corpus has been suspended.
Officially eight civilians were shot, many detained, and more missing. One of those detained citizens was Ashot Manukyan from the northern city of Vanadzor. Ashot has spent his life selflessly fighting corruption and standing up for human rights in Armenia. In the 1980s Soviet Union he successfully organized the closing of a chemical factory that produced smog so toxic that it literally ate the nylons off of women’s legs. After the 1988 earthquake he organized the donations that flowed in from around the world and housed over 100 international volunteers. During Armenia’s fight for independence, Ashot again led citizens from Vanadzor to the capital to peacefully call for independence from the Soviet Union.
Ashot Manukyan is in prison right now. He has been denied access to legal counsel and has never been charged with any crime. Recent, reliable reports from Armenia state that Ashot is being threatened with a prison sentence of 1-5 years. It is unclear as to whether the government is even going to bother giving him or the other prisoners a fair trial.
What You Can Do
Don’t let Ashot and the other political prisoners of Armenia be forgotten. Cut and paste the attached letter into a new email and send it to the Armenian and U.S. government officials listed. If enough people shine a light on these human rights abuses, we can bring Ashot and the others home to their families.
Background on Human Rights in Armenia
For more information on human rights violations in Armenia see the U.S. State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices:
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78799.htm
Letter
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Dear Sirs,
I am writing to you regarding your government’s recent detention of Ashot Manukyan. Mr. Manukyan was peacefully protesting in Yerevan when Armenian security and police forces opened fire on the protestors, killing at least 8 people. During this, Mr. Manukyan was adducted, beaten and detained by police forces. He has been held since March 1st without being charged with any crime or given access to a lawyer. Recently, reports have come to my attention that Ashot is being threatened with a prison sentence of 1-5 years, without even having the benefit of a trial. Such actions are patently illegal and immoral. Ashot Manukyan and other detainees should be freed immediately.
I am calling on you to respect universal human rights. Regardless of anyone’s political beliefs, they do not deserve to be abducted, beaten and illegally detained like Ashot Manukyan or the other peaceful protestors the Armenian government is detaining. I urge your government to bring about the immediate and unconditional release of Ashot and all the other prisoners detained with him.
Sincerely,
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Email Addresses
to: hasmik@president.am, press@president.am, officeoftheminister@mfa.am, A.Baibourtian@mfa.am, S.Abgarian@mfa.am, a.yedigarian@mfa.am,
cc: farrarJD@state.gov <Acting Assistant Secretary Jonathan D. Farrar>, usinfo@usa.am <United States Embassy-Armenia>
[this is good] Between us speaking, in my opinion, it is obvious. You did not try to look in google.com?
Posted by: Jared Strauss | 06/09/2010 at 04:36 AM