Intellectual and musician Yeghishe Petrosyan has been detained twice in the past week during the mass demonstrations in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

Since the 29th of July, the Police has been trying to arrest Mr. Petrosyan after his participation in the organizing committee of a protest that was demanding the resignation of the incumbent President Serj Sargsyan. Twenty-four hours a day, policemen dressed in civilian clothes had been guarding the house of Yeghishe Petrosyan without giving him the opportunity to move freely. On the 30th of July 15 police representatives arrived Petrosyan's house to arrest him on his involvement in organizing 'mass mutiny'. During the arrest, Petrosyan's health sharply deteriorated, and it was necessary to hospitalize him. Yeghishe Petrosyan was transported to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a pre-brain stroke condition. Numerous police officers accompanied him to the hospital, in order to arrest him after the medical research, but doctors didn’t let them do so.

At this moment Yeghishe Petrosyan is in the hospital, where he is still on guard by police officers. The latter continuously check on the wellbeing of Mr. Petrosyan with the doctors in order to take him into custody.

We believe that raising the voice as a citizen of any country is a basic human right. Any type of oppression imposed by the government to silence its citizens is unacceptable in a democratic country. Unjust detainment hinders the democratic progress of societies and is a major violation of human rights. Help us raise our voice against the unjust detainment and imprisonment of Yeghishe Petrosyan. We demand from the National Assembly of Armenia and the Ministry of Justice to set Petrosyan free. Help us restore justice and protect the right to freedom of expression in our community by signing this petition.