Thousands of people marched to a large-scale rally in Yerevan near the walls of the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office to protest against the detentions carried out by the authorities the previous day. Opposition supporters led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan arrived at the protest, Armenian media reported.
A rally of young people with chains and handcuffs on their hands is taking place in front of the Armenian Investigative Committee. The youth are protesting against the lawlessness committed by the authorities and in support of the Movement’s associates illegally detained in the detention centre.
Representatives of the ‘Tavush in the Name of Motherland’ movement marched from Surb Khach Church in Yerevan to the building of the Investigative Committee, which is already cordoned off by law enforcers. They intend to protest, as the activists detained on Friday are still in custody. As part of the protest action, a flash mob is also taking place in front of the Investigative Committee in Yerevan: citizens put up mirrors in which the faces of police officers are reflected.
Starting today, diplomats representing the protest movement will also visit foreign embassies and offices of international organisations in this regard, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said.
According to opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan, who visited the detainees in different pre-trial detention centres, almost every one of them has bodily injuries. That’s why criminal cases should be initiated instead of trying to cover up the cases with official investigations, he told reporters.
A police representative responded to Archbishop Bagrat’s call to the Investigative Committee officers to personally come down and explain the reasons for the 27 activists’ multi-day detention.
Colonel Petrosyan said that no one from the department would come out to the representatives of the movement. However, he passed on a message from there: write a statement about the desire to meet, and then the meeting can be organised in accordance with the established procedure.
