Armenian opposition MP says number of political prisoners exceeds several dozen

Armenian opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan states that concerns over political prisoners remain a key issue following the country's June 7 parliamentary elections, arguing that the number of people facing politically motivated prosecution extends well beyond several dozen.

Writing on social media on Monday, Abrahamyan, a member of the Pativ Unem faction, said it is difficult to determine the exact number of individuals who are either imprisoned or subject to various restrictive measures. However, he contended that the scale of political persecution in Armenia is significant.

"I do not know whether anyone has an exact figure for the number of people who are in prison or under various preventive measures, the number of people facing political persecution obviously exceeds several dozen," the MP said.

He stated the list of political prisoners continues to grow, citing imprisoned opposition figures Ashot Minasyan (Ashot Yerkat), Armen Ashotyan and others.

Abrahamyan also pointed to several individuals who are under house arrest or face restrictions on their movement, naming Davit Hambardzumyan, Samvel Karapetyan, Artur Sargsyan, and Archbishops Bagrat and Mikayel among them.

The opposition lawmaker called for the release of all political prisoners in Armenia.