Since March 1, 2008 the term political prisoner has been the most discussed topic in the political agenda. Certainly this issue was not closed with the amnesty declared on June 19 because about two dozens political prisoners are still in cells. However it is hard to say that after releasing them Armenia will get rid of the image of a country which has political prisoners. The amnesty of June 19 was a good reason to remind about another issue which is not directly connected with March 1 but is a very important issue in Armenia’s inner political agenda and needs to be solved. This issue concerns the criminal case launched against ex minister of police Vano Siradeghyan. It is surprising that during the past two years, even in the context of the political changes, the name of Vano Siradeghyan was not discussed among the ones of political prisoners. Even though he is not arrested but he has been searched during the past ten years in the framework of an absurd criminal case. Vano Siradeghyan has been the only politician since Kocharyan’s tenure who is criminally persecuted so much exclusively based on political reasons. The amnesty of June 19 does not include the provision, under which Vano Siradeghyan was charged. In the given case it will be funny to look for the reasons in the criminal code or the law generally. The criminal case against him was launched exclusively based on political reasons and as a result of a political decision, thus the decision to raise this accusation should be political as well. It is not serious to expect that the incumbent government may perform a humanistic attitude and make such decision. This should have been demanded by the opposition. However the photo of Vano Siradeghyan is not shown in the newspapers and his name is not published among the names of political prisoners during rallies of the opposition. The opposition does not make rallies to demand the inclusion of his name in the list of people subject to amnesty. Even the Armenian National Congress does not speak his name during the rallies. In other words, together with other demands the opposition does not demand from the government to stop the persecution against Vano Siradeghyan as well. Recently the ANC published a statement, according to which the amnesty was a result of the pan-Armenian struggle and pressure on the government. Thus, according to the same logics if the name of Siradeghyan was included in the same demands, he might be here in Armenia too. Furthermore, since Sargsyan was elected there have been rumors that despite Kocharyan the new president would not mind to raise the persecution. Certainly it would be naïve to think that the opposition does not want this, however it is strange why this issue has not been formulated in a political context yet. The amnesty was a perfect opportunity for this. Even the most active pro-government people confess that Vano Siradeghyan’s return will have a positive effect on Armenia’s tense political life.
