Former Yerevan Mayor Albert Bazeyan Held in Solitary Confinement, Cut Off from Outside World

Former Yerevan Mayor Albert Bazeyan is being held in solitary confinement at the Nubarashen prison, and his connection to the outside world has been severed. This information has been reported by the newspaper "Zhoghovurd," which has learned that Bazeyan has submitted a request to the prison administration asking for a newspaper, as is given to other inmates, or a television, but has not received any response to his request.

His defense attorney Georgi Melikyan has stated that he has submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Defender regarding the measures taken against Albert Bazeyan, namely being held in solitary confinement and being cut off from the outside world, but there has been no response to date.

It has been noted that Bazeyan stated to the National Security Service (NSS) that he is being subjected to political persecution. According to the NSS, members of the "Cross Knights" patriotic NGO, as well as Bazeyan and others, having anti-government views and harboring ideological enmity towards government officials, conspired together to use weapons and ammunition they had in their possession to carry out violent actions that could endanger lives or health, with the intent to seize power through unconstitutional means.

The criminal group members acquired communication devices, jamming devices for phone and other connections, as well as tools and instruments that would facilitate the commission of the crime, and intentionally created other conditions to prepare for committing, per their agreement, the crime of seizing power. However, due to circumstances beyond their control, they were unable to start the execution of the criminal act they had planned, and the particularly grave crime was exposed and thwarted by the employees of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia.