ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN DEFENCE COMMITTEES FORMED IN YEREVAN, BEIRUT, MONTREAL, TORONTO AND LOS ANGELES

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The committee "Support for Zhirayr Sefilian" was created in Yerevan on December 14. NT was informed from member of the public initiative "Liberated Territories Protection" Armen Yeghian that the committee's tasks, goals and composition will be announced on December 15.

According to him, committees for defence of Zh. Sefilian are being formed in the Diaspora. Such committees have already been created in Beirut, Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. The committees staged protests in front the Armenian embassy in Canada and the Armenian consulate in Los Angeles, demanding that Zh.

Sefilian be released and granted Armenian citizenship. To recap, the Lebanese citizen Zhirayr Sefilian, who is the coordinator of the initiative "Liberated Territories Protection" and commander of the special Shushi battalion, and Vardan Malkhasian, leading member of the same initiative, were arrested by the RA National Security Service on December 10. A criminal case was opened against them based on the RA Criminal Code's Article 301 "Public Calls to Change Constitutional Order by Violence". The court chose a 3-month arrest as a measure of restraint against them.