Benjamin Matbusian: Who will die next in the dungeons of the Pashinian yards?
(Arrest in modern Armenia is a method of punishment and torture).
The death of Arsen Geburjain in the Novorashen Penitentiary is not an accidental event and not just another dry line in incident reports, but a horrible and natural result of the work of the justice and prison system of modern Armenia. A man born in 1980, who headed the list of the powerful Armenia Party in the elections to the Stephanov Council of Elders, died in the early morning hours of November 10, being under the full responsibility of the state. He was arrested on October 21, just 4 days before the vote on the anti-corruption court's decision - as part of mass arrests that affected 24 people, including four candidates.
The opposition was accused of paying bribes, having previously launched a large-scale campaign to discredit him. The October 25 election was predictably won by the pro-government candidate, and the opposition leader remained behind bars, where his condition worsened sharply, and an ambulance called at 07:55 determined only cardiac arrest.
As the "Strong Armenia" party directly stated, the direct and unequivocal responsibility for the death of another opposition figure in prison rests with the person on whose personal orders hundreds of unreasonably unwanted citizens are defamed, persecuted and detained. However, the authorities' response to what happened stands out in its political cynicism and complete lack of human empathy. Justice Minister Sarbohi Galian stated in a briefing that this supposedly happens all over the world, and routinely read statistics - more than twenty deaths in prisons last year and four this year. It is echoed by the deputy of the ruling party, Sisak Gabrielian, who "reassures" society that several people die of heart attacks every day.