Events in Armenia reflect Pashinyan’s desire to retain power – Marat Bashirov

Marat Bashirov, Professor at the Department of Theory and Practice of Interaction between Business and Government at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, commented to Alpha News on the political persecution of opposition figures and members of the clergy in Armenia. According to the professor, what is happening in Armenia closely resembles the events that unfolded in Ukraine after 2014.

“What is happening in Armenia now closely resembles the events that unfolded in Ukraine after 2014. The fundamental question is the extent to which civil authorities—meaning the state’s administrative structure—interfere with the operations of law enforcement. Law enforcers are tasked with solving crimes. But the crucial point is that, first, civil authorities should not interfere in this process, and second, an adversarial process must be ensured. One cannot simply declare that someone was plotting something—this requires certain evidence. And most importantly, all this must, of course, be decided in court. That is, an investigator should present accusations and evidence, while an independent defense lawyer must be present to contest them, and a judge should make the final decision. Without this adversarial process, it is very difficult to say that the country has a system that protects citizens,” Bashirov said.

According to the expert, political activity in the country should be permitted.

“In this case, I have serious doubts that these individuals were involved in any attempted coup. Political activity should be permitted; that is, it is allowed to criticize the government. If this is within the law, then, excuse me, guys, you just have to tolerate it, or you have to oppose it and say, ‘We believe that we are doing the right thing’. It is important to remain within the rule of law and within the framework of political struggle,” Bashirov emphasized.