By Celeste Noraian
The opposition Strong Armenia party held a demonstration on Wednesday outside the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, demanding “Justice for Arsen Gevorgyan” and calling on European institutions to respond to the death of the party’s late member at the Nubarashen prison in Yerevan.
Gevorgyan was arrested last month on charges of voter bribery in the northern town of Stepanavan where he was running for mayor. Thirteen other people were arrested as part of the same investigation four days before the mayoral election. Gevorgyan denied the accusations, while his party characterized the criminal prosecution as politically motivated.
The protesters demanded the resignation of responsible Armenian officials and the release of other defendants in the same criminal case. Harutyun Harutyunyan, chair of the parliamentary committee on European integration and a member of Strong Armenia, said to the press that the demonstration was not directed against EU Ambassador Vassilis Maragos or the delegation itself.
According to Harutyunyan, the ambassador had been informed of the incident, and the party intended to submit further details to European partners in writing.
The lawmaker also criticized detention conditions and access to medical care in Armenian penitentiary institutions, arguing that previously raised concerns had not been addressed. He described pretrial detention as an excessive measure imposed on Gevorgyan and the other defendants in the case.
Concerns over treatment in Armenia’s prisons
The protest comes amid broader debate about medical care and conditions in Armenia’s penitentiaries. In an interview with CivilNet on Wednesday, legal expert Varazdat Harutyunyan said that Gevorgyan’s death illustrates the problems in Armenia’s treatment of detainees and the use of pretrial detention in politically sensitive cases.
Although the expert said he was not familiar with the specific details of Gevorgyan’s case, he described what he considered systemic problems with medical care in Armenian prisons.
“The system is so bureaucratically complicated,” Harutyunyan said, adding that prisons are “lacking in a human-centered approach.”
He also criticized conditions at Nubarashen, describing the prison as operating under unacceptable conditions.
“Even a healthy person entering that prison has a significant chance of leaving with a chronic health condition,” he said.
The legal expert also argued that detention should not be used as a default measure, especially when there is little risk that a defendant might flee, obstruct the investigation, or influence witnesses.
“Pretrial detention should not serve as a punishment,” he said, explaining that it is unacceptable to penalize someone before they become a convicted criminal.
Harutyunyan also said that alternatives such as bail and house arrest should be used as alternatives more often. He argued that detention is used as a tool to pressure political opponents under the current government, pointing to public statements by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and previous cases involving opposition figures.
Arsen Gevorgyan died Tuesday morning at the Nubarashen Penitentiary Institution, where he had been held in pretrial detention since October 21.
At a press briefing the same day, Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said that Gevorgyan had not previously reported any health problems.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the circumstances of his death, and a forensic medical examination has been ordered. An additional inquiry has also been initiated at the request of Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan.
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