US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN133

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR DRL AND EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, KCRM, AM 
SUBJECT: LEADER OF ARYAN UNION PARTY ARRESTED FOR 
ANTISEMITIC STATEMENTS 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
1. (SBU) On January 24 Armenian authorities arrested 
Armen Avetisyan on charges of "inciting national, 
racial or religious hatred publicly and through mass 
media means" in what authorities called a "preemptive" 
measure.  Avetisyan is the leader of the small, 
marginal extremist Armenian Aryan Union, a fringe party 
with no seats in parliament and no national power base. 
Avetisyan had attracted media attention most recently 
in November 2004 for a series of anti-Semitic 
statements he made during press conferences and in his 
party's publications.  In December 2004 Avetisyan again 
grabbed headlines launching a campaign to "expose" the 
names of homosexuals within the GOAM.  The 
representatives of the Jewish community and other human 
rights groups applauded the arrest.  If the court finds 
him guilty, Avetisyan could face three to six years 
imprisonment.  The GOAM has not announced a trial date 
but stated its intentions to keep Avetisyan in custody 
until his first hearing. 
 
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COMMENT 
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2. (SBU) The GOAM's willingness to take a stance on 
anti-Semitic comments is a welcome sign -- we will 
watch the progress of this case with interest. 
EVANS