VIDEO: Martuni Mayor Blocks Road and Obstructs Entry of Artsakh Revolutionary Party Representatives

Today, the Artsakh1.am Facebook page published a video showing how the Mayor of Martuni in Artsakh blocked the road and obstructed the entry of representatives of the Artsakh Revolutionary Party into the town of Martuni, explaining that presidential candidate Arayik Harutyunyan is his friend and he will not allow anyone to speak against him.

This incident has been addressed by Artsakh's Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan, who wrote on his Facebook page: “The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh considers the actions of the Martuni community leader to be unacceptable, as they have led to violations of the rights of a specific group of individuals to freely conduct their electoral campaign and to the freedom of assembly.”

“Community leaders, regardless of their political and civil views, are obliged within their powers to support or at least not hinder the proportional and equal realization of human rights and freedoms by all individuals. If violations of legislation occur while exercising these rights, only then can the relevant authorities apply lawful and proportional restrictions and measures of accountability.”

The Ombudsman demands that all community leaders and public officials in general conduct themselves in accordance with the law during election processes and adhere to the fundamental principles of public service when exercising their official powers, including the priority of human and citizens' rights and freedoms, political neutrality of public servants, impartiality, and respect for individuals and their rights.

At the same time, the Defender urges all subjects involved in the electoral processes to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect, and to refrain from any actions and public speech that insult the dignity of individuals and contain hate speech. The culture of human rights depends on each of our responsible behaviors.