Campaign calls for release of Armenian opposition figure

A campaign calling for the release of Armenian political prisoner Aram Kocharyan has been launched in the town of Etchmiadzin (Vagharshapat).

Posters featuring Kocharyan’s photo and the slogan “Freedom to Aram Kocharyan” have appeared on building walls across the town, drawing attention to his detention.

Kocharyan is the local head of the opposition Homeland Party in Vagharshapat. He was detained on 29 December and was remanded in custody for one month the following day.

Hours later, Khachik Galstyan, the Homeland Party’s secretary general, was also arrested in connection with the same case and placed in pre-trial detention for two months. Prosecutors say both men are facing charges related to election bribery denied by them as politically motivated.