Ara Saghatelyan's Lawyers Appeal to Ombudsman

The lawyers of Ara Saghatelyan, former head of the government staff, have submitted an appeal to the Ombudsman. This was reported to Factinfo by lawyer Hakob Yenokyan. The lawyer stated that the appeal was made on the day of Saghatelyan's arrest, drawing the Ombudsman's attention to the illegal process.

Representatives from the Ombudsman's office visited the Special Investigation Service (SIS) and met with Ara Saghatelyan.

As previously reported, officers from the National Security Service (NSS) conducted a search on February 19 at the offices of Ara Saghatelyan, analyst Karen Bekaryan, Azerbaijan expert Angela Elibegova, and constitutional lawyer Gohar Meloyan, seizing phones and computers, and subsequently detaining them. Angela Elibegova and Gohar Meloyan were released after refusing to give testimony, while Karen Bekaryan, Ara Saghatelyan, and citizens Mher Avagyan and Aram L. Sargsyan were arrested, and a motion was filed in court for their detention.

Analyst Karen Bekaryan and citizen Mher Avagyan were released after the court rejected the NSS investigators' motion, noting the absence of reasonable suspicion.

Moreover, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, headed by Arpine Meliksetyan, also deemed Saghatelyan’s arrest unlawful, recording that the charges against him for violating information rules during wartime lacked reasonable suspicion; however, it sanctioned his detention.

It is noteworthy that Ara Saghatelyan has played an active role for years in the information war against Azerbaijan, making the country’s war crimes accessible to the international press. From the very first days of the 2020 war, he was present in Artsakh, assisting in the organization of international media activities while covering the details of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem's aggression.

During the days when the authorities were preparing to sign the act of capitulation, on November 8, 2020, government propagandists began a smear campaign against him, disseminating defamatory information. These claims were quickly refuted, and lawsuits were initiated; however, Nikol Pashinyan encouraged Taron Chakhoyan, who played a significant role in the smear campaign against Saghatelyan, by appointing him as deputy head of the government staff, thus proving he was behind the persecution of Ara Saghatelyan.

In an interview with Factinfo, Ara Saghatelyan stated that there is a fixation and caution regarding his person, and efforts are being made to discredit him or to exempt him from the ongoing processes.

The expert community has already declared that Ara Saghatelyan is being politically persecuted, viewing him as a political prisoner.