Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Members of the radical opposition in Armenia were released from custody on May 4 after their sudden arrest in early April. The prosecutor requested to change the measure of restraint applied against them to a written undertaking not to leave their area of permanent residence.

Foregoer Jirair Sefilyan and other leading members of the opposition Founding Parliament group have now been put under house arrest following four weeks of detention.

Following the announcement of their release, Sefilyan called the entire crackdown -- arrest and imprisonment-- a "buffoonery" amid the Founding Parliament's struggle to build justice in Armenia.

"With our detention they have "raped" the constitution. But our struggle will go on and we will soon open all brackets" he said.

Sefilyan together with four other Founding Parliament activists were detained on April 7 as the National Security Service employees conducted searches at their homes as well as at the FP headquarters in Yerevan. The NSS announced that it obtained evidence that the group intended to instigate "mass disturbances" during a rally planned in Yerevan last month.

The five men were later on charged accordingly and taken into custody three days later accompanied by protests from their fellow campaigners as well as human rights activists. They claimed that there were insufficient grounds for their arrests and that the FP members were being prosecuted for their political views.

Even the New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch has called on the authorities in Yerevan to release the members of the group known to be campaigning for regime change in Armenia.

The Founding Parliament's top plan was to launch nonstop street protests on April 24 - the day of the so-called "Armenian genocide" celebrations. They vowed to push ahead until the regime steps down. But their objectives have been spoiled by a violent government crackdown.

After the arrests of the leaders, the group's activists vowed to go on a crusade against the authorities until the regime concedes power back to the people. Despite the failed mobilization on April 24, they pledged to keep the process of removing the regime alive until complete victory.

The opposition in Yerevan supports a common idea that the regime ignores the requirements and principles of the country's Independence Declaration and the Constitution. President Serzh Sargsyan's "anti-national" regime, according to the opposition forces, should be taken down for the sake of national power.

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