A “Public Council for the Defense of Tsarukyan and Other Political Prisoners” has been formed in Armenia, with Prosperous Armenia Party representative Iveta Tonoyan outlining the reasons behind the initiative and its stated goals. She said the body includes opposition politicians, human rights advocates, public figures, lawyers, and representatives of the arts and culture sectors.
Tonoyan said Gagik Tsarukyan was remanded in custody two months ago without grounds and argued that the steps that followed ran counter to both political and legal logic. According to her, the strong public response during that period led to the idea of setting up a more systematic and structured rights-defense body.
She said that a day after the council was formed, Gagik Tsarukyan issued a message thanking those behind the move and urging them to defend the rights of all political prisoners as well as Armenian captives held in Baku. In Tonoyan’s words, in a republic that presents itself as a stronghold of democracy, human rights protection has itself become the field most in need of protection.
Tonoyan also argued that the criminal cases brought against opposition figures lack any legal substance and amount, in her view, to political revenge. In that context, she referred to cases involving Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan, Strong Armenia chairman Samvel Karapetyan, and Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan. She further claimed that the political reprisal against Tsarukyan began after the Central Electoral Commission, as she alleged, stole about 60,000 votes cast for Prosperous Armenia.
Council member Elinar Vardanyan said Tsarukyan’s liberty had been restricted in an inhumane manner. Cited by Sputnik Armenia, she said that if the matter were examined by the European Court of Human Rights, the ruling would go against Armenia. Vardanyan said that although Tsarukyan opened the door of his home to officers who arrived with a search warrant, he was forced to the ground before being taken away and arrested, while the authorities have continued, through public statements and other actions, to damage his good name and dignity.
The former lawmaker also commented on actions involving Tsarukyan’s property, saying the ongoing issues surrounding property rights are not only a domestic matter for Armenia but also affect the country’s reputation. In her view, the same pattern can be seen in the cases of Samvel Karapetyan and Robert Kocharyan, which she said points to a broader approach by the authorities. She argued that a repressive mechanism is operating in Armenia and gathering momentum.
Mane Tandilyan, a council member and co-founder of the Country to Live party, said values are being violated that have pushed people with different political views to unite. In her assessment, the issue is far larger, and remaining silent now would mean accepting what is happening and allowing similar cases to recur. She also called unacceptable what she described as silence where freedom of speech and people’s freedom to act are at stake.
Tandilyan said the campaign is also aimed at protecting the rights of Armenian captives held in Baku, whom she described not only as political prisoners but also as people persecuted because of their ethnicity and jailed for defending their homeland.
Politician and council member Bagrat Yesayan said he believes political persecution by the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities is being carried out in a synchronized manner. He also argued that Europe’s ruling elites have sacrificed European values to geopolitical interests.
Tsarukyan was detained on July 6 and remanded in custody the following day. Minutes after the detention order was issued, Armenia’s Investigative Committee released footage of the arrest. The video showed National Security Service officers entering his mansion, with seven or eight people forcing the 69-year-old businessman to the ground before leading him away in handcuffs.
Tsarukyan and another person are accused of aiding fraud and aiding money laundering. A separate case was also opened over the alleged illegal hunting of a wild animal or bird. As part of that case, 190 taxidermied animals and birds, as well as three lions and one tiger, were seized from Tsarukyan’s home, recognized as physical evidence, and transferred to Yerevan Zoo.
