Employees of H2 TV channel address open letter to Armenia’s acting PM demanding release of their director Samvel Mayrapetyan

Over 100 employees of H2 TV channel have addressed an open letter to Armenia’s acting PM Nikol Pashinyan over the arrest of the owner of the channel, businessman Samvel Mayrapetyan.

The letter claims that Mayrapeyan is under arrest for already a month based only on false testimonies of businesswoman Silva Hambardzumyan.

“Samvel Mayrapetyan has been detained illegally without any grounds on October 6 and on October 9 arrested for two months in case when the person who gave bribe and who received it are not detained. Samvel Mayrapetyan does not admit the accusations against him,” the letter says.

It also claims that no investigation proceedings have been carried out with him during the one month of his arrest.

A number of well-known doctors, spirituals, scholars, businessmen, representatives of art and culture, a number of MPs have publicly expressed their discontent over Mayrapetyan’s arrest and addressed their request and demand on October19 to corresponding bodies demanding change of preventive measure applied to Mayrapetyan which though was rejected.

On October 27 the Court of Appeal examined and rejected the petition of Mayrapetyan’s attorneys to change the preventive measure. The response came on November 5. “The judge noted that despite the fact that Mayrapetyan came to the investigative body on his own, despite his bad health condition, despite having a family and despite being owner of a number of companies and not having any criminal past, the Court of Appeal finds that the enumerated circumstances are not enough for being convinced that while in freedom Mayrapetyan will not hide from investigative body and will not impede the investigation of his case,” the letter tells.

“We apply to you as a journalist and a person who managed to give the Armenian people and us hope and belief that we can live in free and fair country, in New Armenia. But the recent developments, the financial and psychological pressures on 120-member staff agreed with the ungrounded arrest of our head seriously endanger the principles of democracy, justice, human rights protection and freedom of speech,” the letter says, adding that they would not like the situation created over the H2 and their director cast a shadow on one of the most important principle of New Armenia – freedom of speech.

"We are convinced that by not interfering into the judicial processes at all you can urge the law enforcers under your subordination not to endanger the principles of democracy and justice, human rights and freedom of speech, the sprouts of which are becoming visible in New Armenia," the letter says.