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Lawyer Aram Vardevanyan, an MP of the opposition Hayastan bloc, took to Facebook on Friday to denounce the arrest of several opposition activists as “unlawful”, stressing that law enforcement is no longer independent.

"In August 2021, when three parliament deputies were illegally arrested, I stated that Armenia was heading towards a dictatorship. I alerted the U.S. and EU ambassadors about the situation, however they remained silent and inactive,” he said.

“Active and extremely patriotic members of the Resistance Movement, Taron Manukyan, Gor Sargsyan, Arsen Martoyan, Gerasim Vardanyan and Gor Matevosyan, have now been arrested unlawfully. A criminal case has been opened; let them investigate it, but the rule of dictatorship implies an imminent arrest, that's why they were remanded into custody,” Vardevanyan said.

“The guys are arrested because the current authorities have made a fetish of arrest. They are arrested because law enforcement has lost its independence. All this will only cause a backlash. It refers to all unlawful detentions and arrests as well as political persecution,” the MP stated.