I Haven't Been Interested, I Have No Complaints from the Lawyer: The Ombudsman on Mihran Poghosyan

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, has stated that he has not been involved in the case of former MP and former leader of the Social-Democratic Party, Mihran Poghosyan, who has sought political asylum in Russia.

"I have not been interested because, first of all, I have no application or complaint from the lawyer. If such a thing happens, you will be engaged in it," Tatoyan said during a conversation with reporters in parliament.

Regarding the satisfaction of the request for political asylum, Tatoyan noted that it must be decided by the law enforcement agencies of Russia. "This means that this is beyond the authority of the Human Rights Defender," he emphasized.

He added that he cannot assess whether Mihran Poghosyan is being politically pursued or not. "A criminal case has been initiated, and the criminal procedure requires that if he has been detained—which, as far as I know, he has been detained to initiate extradition procedures—then this is a normal procedure established by the criminal procedural code. Now, what decision a specific body will make regarding political asylum is determined by a different procedure," the Ombudsman stressed.

When asked whether he considers it possible that there will be political persecuted individuals under this government who will seek asylum in various countries, Tatoyan responded that he cannot provide assessments regarding predictions. "Regarding whether there will or will not be political prisoners, the Ombudsman does not have the tools to answer that question. I have mentioned this many times," he stated.