Police report about 52 activists detained at protests in Yerevan

The number of activists detained today at protest actions in Yerevan has reached 52, the Armenian police report. The opposition complained about the use of disproportionate force against the protesters.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the second day of street protests ended on April 26 with a march of opposition supporters and blocked roads in the centre of Yerevan. Today, opposition protests demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have continued, and the police have reported about eleven detainees in Yerevan.

The number of activists detained today in Yerevan has reached 52, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was informed by Zarzand Gabrielyan, the chief of the Media Relations Department of the Armenian police. According to him, the activists were detained during various protest actions: 46 people were detained for failure to obey a lawful order of the police, and six other activists – for insulting a policeman. The detainees are being kept in different police stations, Zarzand Gabrielyan reports.

According to Arthur Vanetsyan, an initiator of the protest actions, the leader of the “Hayrenik” Party, the head of the opposition parliamentary faction “I Have the Honour”, the police use disproportionate force against the activists. On his Facebook* page, Arthur Vanetsyan reports that he has visited one of the police stations where the activists were taken.

“The police use disproportionate force (...) The authorities are well aware that the protests are gaining momentum and that they will not be able to intimidate people with this use of force,” Arthur Vanetsyan said.

* On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 27, 2022 at 07:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.