Video: Relatives of Life Imprisonment Inmate Deliver Letter to Prime Minister

Relatives of Ashot Manukyan, who has been serving a life sentence for 23 years and 8 months, delivered a letter to the Prime Minister's office today, September 13.

"The Armavir Court rejected our son's early release, and we don't know why. We came to the government to understand why our son, life prisoner Ashot Manukyan's early release was denied. Our son has been incarcerated for 24 years; he committed the crime when he was only 19 years old while serving as a soldier in Artik. He is now 43 years old. The court refers back to 1996, claiming he committed a serious crime back then, which is why they are reluctant to release him," said Ashot Manukyan's mother, Satenik Manukyan.

According to her, Ashot's behavior throughout his 24 years of imprisonment has been positive. "The representatives of the correctional institution have also presented him positively, but the judge did not consider anything. He has been self-educating during these years, writing a book urging soldiers not to repeat his mistakes. He is currently studying as a third-year student at Urartu University, majoring in pedagogical psychology," the mother revealed.

Ashot Manukyan’s relatives also plan to appeal to the Minister of Justice by letter and will submit an application for early release to the Court of Appeal as well as the Court of Cassation. "If we do not receive a positive response there, we will appeal to the European Court,” they stated. Details can be found in Tert.am's video report.