David Tonoyan Demands Meeting with the Human Rights Defender

Former Minister of Defense of Armenia, David Tonoyan, has requested a meeting with the Human Rights Defender's office, seeking a discussion with Anahit Manasyan regarding his prolonged detention. “I find it necessary to draw the Human Rights Defender's attention to the issue that, after 2 years and 7 months of baseless and illegal imprisonment, there are no time limits set by previous court decisions concerning my detention, both as of April 18, 2024, and during the court proceedings,” Tonoyan stated.

He emphasized that the court examining the case, as well as the appellate and cassation courts, ignore constitutional issues regarding personal freedom, a consequence of the ongoing disregard for the criminal procedural legislation and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Tonoyan pointed out that his decision to contact the Human Rights Defender is also influenced by the need to exhaust all domestic legal remedies before appealing to the European Court of Human Rights and international human rights organizations.

“I am also preparing to draw the Human Rights Defender's attention to the discriminatory approaches observed in numerous criminal cases concerning military personnel,” he wrote.

Earlier, Tonoyan issued a statement addressing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, emphasizing that if the leader of a country facing existential challenges has time to inspect the quality of the hooks in school lockers, he should also find time to 'inspect' the missiles necessary for ensuring the combat readiness of the Armed Forces.

Tonoyan proposed to Pashinyan that they jointly inspect the requested missiles once again and personally ask him questions in the presence of the media, regarding both military hardware and other topics of public interest.