ARF accuses Armenian authorities of political persecution

ArmInfo. Today, searches were  conducted at different times in the homes of ARF Dashnaktsutyun  members since early morning, after which the latter were taken to the  Investigative Committee, as noted in the official statement issued by  the Public Relations Office of the Supreme Body of the ARF.

According to  source,  lawyers involved in the ongoing trials have  reported that no illegal items were found or confiscated in the homes  of any of the detainees. However, the Investigative Committee has  presented items seized during the searches as material evidence  allegedly confirming preparation for terrorist activity, including  equipment for playing airsoft and a T-shirt with the ARF  Dashnaktsutyun symbols," the statement says.

It was later revealed that a grenade was found in the house of a  participant in the hostilities (in 2016 and 2020, as well as the  September 2022 battles in Jermuk) during a search conducted without  the presence of a lawyer and without ensuring the legality of the  investigative actions. The statement says that it is obvious that it  is impossible to carry out the terrorist acts attributed to the  detainee with its help. In this regard, the office stated that the  current government is carrying out political persecution against the  ARF Dashnaktsutyun. "This is evidenced not only by today's actions,  but also by the information attacks that preceded them, as well as  the political statements of government representatives regarding the  suspension of ARF Dashnaktsutyun'sctivities in Armenia, which  followed immediately after today's illegal detentions," the statement  says.