Over 200 people, including journalists, have been taken to police stations following the dispersal of a demonstration in downtown Yerevan, Union of Informed Citizens NGO said in a statement, according to Panorama.am.
Some of the citizens were taken to police stations of the cities of Abovyan and Ashatrak as Yerevan police stations are overcrowded, the statement notes.
Reporters of GALA TV, Haykakan Zhamanak daily, and websites News.am, PanARMENIAN.Net and Hetq.am are among those taken to police stations. Many citizens received injuries, with some of them being hospitalized, according to the statement.
In the last two hours the rapid response group of Armenian Ombudsman Office has been visiting various police stations and Yerevan hospitals where protesters were taken.
Also, twenty-five people were taken to different medical institutions of Armenia in the wake of the overnight clashes that followed the protest against the power hike.
Following the overnight clashes that saw the police officers use force against young activists campaigning against the power hike, Tert.am has sought comments from parliamentarians as to the proportionality and adequateness of the measures taken.
Tevan Poghosyan, an opposition MP from the Heritage party, says he regrets a lot that the police had to use water spraying cars and resort to physical violence amid the massive protest that continued until midnight.
“The entire process should have pursued a different course. Regretfully enough, the young [activists] were wonderful people, so I hail them and their campaign, as well as their skillfulness to stand up for their rights,” he said.
Poghosyan said he was under the impression that the police behavior was adequate and balanced up until a certain point when the events took an aggressive turn. “They were very disciplined and balanced – at least until the evening – and showing a demonstrated respect for one another. I don’t know what happened or changed that necessitated the use of force. But I really regret.”
In the sporadic march that followed the three-day sit-in in Yerevan’s Liberty Square, police officers negotiated with the protesters for over eight hours, trying to explain the legal ban on sporadic actions lasting more than six hours. The activists, for their part, were urging policemen to switch on the street lighting to prevent a possible provocation. As early as at 5:20 am, the police brought water spraying canons to the scene, and some 237 activists subsequently held.
Nikol Pashinyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress said earlier today (June 23) that the law enforcement authorities have instituted a criminal case to probe into further details.
In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, the Armenian Police tried to justify the reasons behind their actions, citing the law “On Freedom of Assemblies”, as well as the activists’ somewhat indifferent attitude to their repeated calls and requests for accepting the president’s proposal for a meeting.
According to Vahram Baghdasaryan, the leader of the ruling Republican faction in parliament, the police calls and the response by the Presidential Office could have averted the major clashes.
“But the protesters did not want that; hence, naturally, the tough measures could not have been avoided. And the situation was not desirable either for the policemen or the demonstrators or even the presidential administration. But in certain situations, it is impossible to act otherwise,” he said.