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Help Arevik: Innocent, Pregnant, Imprisoned

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  • Help Arevik: Innocent, Pregnant, Imprisoned

    HELP AREVIK: INNOCENT, PREGNANT, IMPRISONED

    The Women's International Perspective
    April 20 2010

    I know Arevik's story from other Bulgarian bloggers. Briefly, Arevik
    Shmavonyan is a young Armenian woman. 5 years ago, she met on Skype
    David Arutyunyan, a young man of Armenian origin living in the city of
    Montana, Bulgaria. They fell in love and about 3 months ago Arevik came
    to Bulgaria to unite with her beloved. They could not marry because
    Bulgarian bureaucracy refused to clear their paperwork, but started
    living together. After Arevik's 1-month visa expired, she obtained a
    permission to remain for additional 14 days. However, despite this
    permission she was sent to the infamous detention facility in the
    Sofia district of Busmanci, where refugees and candidate immigrants
    are kept indefinitely without clear reasons (I have blogged about
    this facility in my earlier post Prison by any other name).

    In Busmanci, Arevik found out that she was pregnant. Her pregnancy is
    problematic, causing cyclic vomiting and severe eating and sleeping
    problems. Arevik has been in Busmanci already for one month, and for
    this time has been taken twice to hospital unconscious. Nevertheless,
    she is still kept there, in a room with about 10 other women and
    without adequate care. Although Arevik has done nothing wrong, her
    release is not in sight, and her life is in peril as well as the life
    of her unborn child.

    I appeal to you to try to help Arevik. Svetla Encheva in her April
    18 post gives a beautiful model letter citing appropriate quotes
    from Bulgarian and European legislature, as well as the addresses
    of the Montana Police Department whose orders have led to Arevik's
    imprisonment. I shall not translate the letter - knowing the English
    proficiency of our average law enforcer, I think a short note comprised
    of simple words would do a better job. In fact, I think that the
    police will be more impressed by the mere obtaining of messages from
    abroad written in English than by their text.

    Here are two e-mail addresses of the Montana Police Department:
    [email protected], [email protected]. You can also fill
    this form. At the top line, you must select "MBP - обÐ"Ð&#xB0 ;&# xD1;~AÑ~B
    Ð~он&#x D1;~Bана" (Montana Police Department). The lines below are,
    respectively, for your first name, family name, e-mail, postal
    address, subject of your message and then comes the field for the
    text of your message. You are also advised to send a paper letter at
    the following address:

    Comissar Valeri Dimitrov Police Department - Montana 2 Aleksander
    Stamboliiski Blvd BG-3400 Montana Bulgaria

    I also advise you to turn to the Ministry of Interior in the capital
    Sofia. Its contact form is here. The lines are (from top) for your
    first name, family name, address, telephone, e-mail and below is the
    field for the text of the message. The postal address is as follows:

    Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov Ministry of Interior 29, 6th of September
    Street BG-1000 Sofia Bulgaria
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