No grounds for Babayan’s arrest; this case has political motivation, says Alaverdyan

The former deputy chief of the National Assembly staff Arsen Babayan's arrest is politically motivated. This was stated in an interview with Tert.am by human rights defender and former Human Rights Defender Larisa Alaverdyan.

According to her, those who speak critically of the current authorities become targets. “A few days before his arrest, Babayan was a guest on a show where he expressed his critical views about law enforcement agencies. Honestly, I thought that his statement could have repercussions for Arsen Babayan, and indeed that turned out to be the case,” said Alaverdyan, emphasizing that there was no substantial basis for Babayan’s arrest.

According to the former Human Rights Defender, one of the main reasons behind these processes is the political stance of the ruling party. “Recently, one of the ruling party’s MPs said that when they say ‘reject Serzh’ it means rejecting all those who had any role during his tenure. Apparently, there is some mechanism to check who is wholly supportive of them,” stated Alaverdyan.

In her opinion, the criminal case concerning Arsen Babayan is linked to Constitutional Court President Hrayr Tovmasyan. “It seems that the process of Hrayr Tovmasyan being elected as the President of the Constitutional Court has long been known. Then why did these actions begin after the Constitutional Court made the decision we all know about, rejecting the National Assembly’s request to terminate Tovmasyan's powers?” said Alaverdyan, noting that, for instance, when the question pertains to Hrayr Tovmasyan or Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, there is also a personalized political agenda.

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