Armenian opposition protests outside EU office over political detentions

Members and supporters of Armenia’s opposition Homeland Party staged a protest outside the EU office in Yerevan on Friday, calling for the release of two party figures detained on politically motivated charges.

Sos Hakobyan, a lawyer and Homeland Party member, said at the protest that Armenia now has the highest number of people jailed over political issues since independence, urging European institutions to uphold commitments to human rights and freedoms.

“You hear European values proclaimed in Armenia, but they are not applied,” Hakobyan said, adding that the protest aimed to remind European institutions of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The party’s secretary-general, Khachik Galstyan, and local official Aram Kocharyan were arrested on bribery charges, which supporters describe as fabricated.

Hakobyan said no one opposed objective investigations or court proceedings, but accused the government of detaining people without credible evidence, calling it political persecution that harms society.

He said the arrests were intended to weaken opposition forces and undermine democratic processes ahead of next elections, and urged political groups to set aside differences to campaign for the release of political prisoners.