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ARMENIA DAILY DIGEST
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From: Ina Iankulova (iiankulova@sorosny.org)
Date: Wed Feb 26 2003 - 12:30:09 EST
INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS CONCERNED AT ARRESTS OF ARMENIAN DEMONSTRATORS
Peter Eicher, the U.S. diplomat who heads the OSCE's election-observation mission in Armenia, told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau on 25 February that he is "very concerned" by the arrests of more than 100 people who participated in unsanctioned demonstrations in Yerevan on 21 and 23 February in support of presidential challenger Demirchian. Eicher said he has not yet seen any evidence to substantiate Armenian officials' claims that those persons were involved in hooliganism, noting that mission members also attended the rallies and found they were "essentially peaceful." Eicher also expressed concern that many detainees were tried behind closed doors and denied access to lawyers. He further noted that the Armenian authorities appear to have done very little to investigate reported violations of election procedures and to discipline those found responsible for them. LF
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