Statement regarding wire-tapping by HCAV...

The Helsinki Citizens Assembly of Vanadzor has authored a letter regarding the recent revelations of illegal wire-tapping by the authorities prior to and around the time of the presidential elections in February. The statement is below, or click here. Feel free to send this to De Puig (llmdepuig@senado.es), to the spokesperson for Davis (matjaz.gruden@coe.int) or other members of PACE (members of the appropriate committee at PACE can be found here):


On September 4, 2008, G. Hakobyan, the director of the National Security states in his interview to “Armenpres” that “Candidate for the president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters made appeals for civil disobedience during the meetings in the whole pre-election campaign period regardless of the final results of elections.”

With such clarifications the National Security director justifies the decision to tap the phone calls of Aexander Arzumanyan, the head of pre-election office of Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

1. For the first time in Armenia, the National Security director publicly informs that he is pursuing political opponents

2. The National Security director considers that civil obedience is an action liable to criminal punishment, which is not an action liable to criminal punishment by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. Moreover, it is recognized as a civic right by the third paragraph of the preamble of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In fact, the National Security director surpassed his official rights and used them against citizens, which is an action liable to criminal punishment according to RA legislation (Articles 316, 317 of the Criminal Code).

With this statement

1. I am applying to RA Prosecutor General A. Hovsepyan to open a criminal case against the National Security director G. Hakobyan

2. I am applying to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly Luis Maria De Puig to discuss the issue of obvious political pursuits towards political opponents by the National Security director, a head of one of the key structures of authorities, as the Republic of Armenia is a member state of CoE that took commitments.