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The "red lines" that the Council of Europe set for Armenia regarding undemocratic and unlawful actions, including brutal detentions of people for political reasons, are now non-existent, lawyer and human rights activist Ruben Melikyan said at a protest outside the Armenian Foreign Ministry on Monday.

He said the protesters demanding the release of political prisoners urged visiting Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić to abandon “double standards”.

"There are at least five political prisoners in Armenia currently – Armen Ashotyan, Narek Malyan, Mamikon Aslanyan, Narek Samsonian and Vazgen Saghatelyan. Any lawyer can substantiate that they are political prisoners,” Melikyan stated.

“The other reason for this rally is that the Armenian leadership will most certainly not raise the issue of Armenian prisoners held by Baku. We’d like to tell them that Armenia has not forgotten about the military and political leaders of Artsakh, who have found themselves behind bars in Azerbaijan as political prisoners. No one talks about them on international platforms. We’ve gathered here to express support for political prisoners in Yerevan and Baku," Melikyan added.