"Fact" daily writes:
The brutal arrest and subsequent detention of lawyer Alexander Kochubaev, no matter how much it seems like an event related to one person and his Facebook post, actually and deeply concerns the whole society.
It is, if you like, one of the unique turning points in the life of our country, which is no longer sinking into the toxic swamp of brown totalitarianism and hysterical autocracy. The "people's bastion" government led by Pashinyan moves on to actions aimed at terrorizing the public and total disenfranchisement, restraining them with fear. What happened with that arrest, and why do we consider it a "turning point" in a certain sense?
A man with an active public expression and a civil position, strongly angered by the latest persecutory manifestations of the government against high-ranking clerics and priests of the Armenian Apostolic Church, made a harsh post on his social network account page and gave sharp definitions. By that, due to his profession, he, as a defense attorney, is included in the ongoing case with accusations against Reverend Bagrat and others, the "18 righteous".
Shortly after that post, a masked and specially equipped "arresting group" attacked and forcibly arrested the lawyer in the presence of many people right near the Shengavit court. Basically, it was a purposeful and demonstrative "punitive action", and it is at least conceivable that those who gave the order to arrest the lawyer in such a way were pursuing such a goal.
In this case, the display of disproportionate force was directed not against the arrested person, but against the entire society. About the turning point. First, if the incident and the act attributed to the lawyer is related exclusively to saying a harsh word in public, then a whole series of questions arise here.
Among them, the most important, we think, is the question of how, in the conditions of such a strict approach of the law enforcement system, criminal proceedings have not been initiated against the same Nikol Pashinyan and his accomplices. I mean, what? The representatives of the government, their propagandists and satellites can freely say anything to the opponents, citizens of the country, people of Armenian nationality, the Catholicos of All Armenians, high-ranking clergymen, local and foreign human rights defenders, and, hey, citizens with opposition views immediately become "criminals" from a light word?
And where was the law, legality and equality? But let's consider this a rhetorical question... Another essential circumstance is that the citizen was arrested and detained for expressing an opinion. On top of all that, it spells the end, if you will, of diffuse "democracy."
If the lawyer is the target of persecution by the repressive bodies of the government, it is a clear message not only to all other lawyers, human rights defenders, activists, but also to the whole society, every citizen. That "message" is a threat. A more direct threat than that would be if Pashinyan, after doing his daily "heart attack", declares that everyone in Armenia is now indiscriminately considered to be apparently detained, so let them be ready to end up in prison.
Especially, on the eve of the upcoming national elections, such a repressive approach is perceived and emphasized even more acutely. Undoubtedly, there will be compatriots who will think or say that, well, a lawyer was arrested, and you, "turning point...", this, that. Moreover, there may be those who will think something like this. "Well, let him not say such things, let him not be caught..." Regarding the last of such "thoughts", it should be noted that those who think like that have already been subjected to psychological terror and have been subjected to repressions.
Which, to be honest, is painful, because tomorrow, the next day, by threatening them in the same way, they can force them to do whatever they want, including giving up their homeland, home, faith, and language. And those who think that it does not concern them personally, especially since they are silent, they are not lawyers, bishops, journalists, but salesmen, taxi drivers, plasterers, daily wage earners, etc., then they are wrong.
Not only are they wrong, but they are engaged in the worst of deceptions: self-deception. It is a self-deception to think that if you are not "engaged in politics", then the government "thought police" arresters will not "come after you". It is self-delusion to think that if you keep quiet, if you act "smart", they will not "come after you". They will come.
And, as a German clergyman observed with his bitter experience, when it is the turn of the arresters to come "after you", there will be no one to try to protect you and your rights. Do not deceive yourself. They will come because... you didn't jump in front of the TV with proud happiness during Pashinyan's speech. They will come because... after Pashinyan's speech, you said "long live" not 3 times, but 2 times. They will come because you dared to look at Ararat from the bus window for a few seconds.
They will come because... they will come. Yes, it also applies to those who do assignments blindly.
Even more to them. Other artists will come...
ARMEN HAKOBYAN
The details are in today's issue of "Past" daily newspaper
