LEADER OF ARYAN UNION PARTY ARRESTED FOR

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. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶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