Yerevan/Mediamax/. Leaders of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan alliance stated today they will continue the fight for protection of Samvel Babayan’s rights.

Former Artsakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, who supports the alliance, was detained for two months on March 24 for the alleged assistance in smuggling of Igla missile system.

“I don’t believe Samvel Babayan would be dealing with such little issues, especially now. If the authorities have specific information, let them show it, and we’ll know. But if they don’t, at least for now we believe that this is political persecution of Samvel and our alliance,” said the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan alliance leader and former Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan.

He noted they received information from the lawyer that Samvel Babayan pleaded not guilty.

“Samvel Babayan is our comrade-in-arms and ideological partner. He supported us within his abilities in different times. We must be resolute in protection of his rights and fight till the end,” Seyran Ohanyan added.

Representatives of the alliance, former Foreign Ministers of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan stressed that “Samvel Babayan is a political prisoner”. According to them, the persecution of the alliance shows that “Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan alliance is out of the authorities’ control”.

Seyran Ohanyan also commented on the possibility of his detention:

“I am in the middle of large political processes, so if there was information of that kind, someone would talk about it. However, we are in Armenia, so everything is possible.”

Members of the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan alliance emphasized that in case the people demand re-elections after the results of these elections are known, they will follow the people’s will. --0--