On May 27 Nikol Pashinian, Chief Editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily, was pardoned and released. The act on the amnesty was passed on the occasion of May 28 Republic Day by the RA National Assembly on May 26.
As it has been reported, during the 2008 presidential elections Nikol Pashinian was a member of the election headquarters of presidential candidate, RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosian. On January 19, 2010 Nikol Pashinian was found guilty in mass riots of March 1, 2008 in Yerevan, and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. On March 9, 2010 the Criminal Court of Appeal, by applying an amnesty on Nikol Pashinian, cut down his unexpired term of imprisonment by half, which made 3 years 10 months and 29 days. Considering this term as overrated by about 5 months, the head of “Haykakan Zhamanak” appealed it at the courts of first and second jurisdictions. However, the suits were rejected. On February 14, 2011 Nikol Pashinian claimed that his constitutional rights are being violated at the penitentiary. In particular, he announced about the ban on correspondence, imposed by the prison administration. The journalist had also addressed the European Court of Human Rights regarding his detention, court litigations and conviction. All this time the case of Nikol Pashinian was in the center of public attention. Thus, in the beginning of April 2011 several media heads started new actions demanding to release the “Haykakan Zhamanak” Chief Editor.
