In Yerevan, rally begins despite mass detentions

In Yerevan, law enforcers began detentions on Freedom Square even before activists started a rally with the demand of the Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. Dozens of people, including Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party, were detained by the police.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that 17 opposition political forces were planning to start a rally on Freedom Square in Yerevan at 1:00 p.m. on today, to demand the Nikol Pashinyan's resignation.

The police began mass detentions even before the start of the rally. Despite the law enforcers' actions, opposition leaders are trying to speak out, while the protesters, whose number is growing, are chanting the demand: "Nikol, go away!"

The number of the detained activists includes members of the Republican Party and the "Fatherland" Party, the "Sputnik Armenia" reports.

Today, agents of the National Security Service of Armenia have also detained Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party, the largest opposition party.

The police are acting harshly, and dozens of protesters have been already detained, the "New-Armenia" reports.

The General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia warned the activists in advance that the rallies were prohibited by the martial law in force in the country. Ruben Melikyan, the leader of the NGO "Legal Way", who has been detained today, has expressed his indignation about the fact that during the hostilities, the authorities did not interfere with numerous peaceful rallies held in front of the UN building and the embassies in Yerevan, but when the war ended, they have remembered the ban on mass rallies. Ruben Melikyan has emphasized that he was detained even before the start of the rally, the Armenian edition "News" reports today.

To prevent activists from outside Yerevan from entering the Armenian capital, the authorities have blocked the roads to the city, says Shake Isayan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition "Prosperous Armenia" faction. "Although the authorities have blocked all the roads leading to Yerevan from the regions, our citizens are rushing to join us," said Shake Isayan at the rally as quoted by the RIA "Novosti".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 11, 2020 at 01:36 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.