CHAIRMEN OF SEVERAL OPPOSITION PARTIES AND EDITORS OF NEWSPAPERS ARRESTED
Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2007
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 23, at about 7:10 p.m. law
enforcement bodies arrested the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "4th
Power" Shogher Matevosian, the editor-in-chief of the daily "Armenian
Time" Nikol Pashinian, the chairman of the Conservative Party Mikael
Hayrapetian, the representative of the "Armenian National Movement"
party Davit Matevosian, the chairman of the "Democratic Homeland"
party Petros Makeyan and several other persons.
Reporter of "Armenian Time" Lusine Barseghian told NT correspondent
that the reason for arrest of the above mentioned persons was the
procession that they and several dozen supporters organized, during
which they were calling on (by using a loud-speaker) residents of
Yerevan to participate in the opposition rally scheduled for October
26 in Freedom Square. Besides, procession participants distributed
leaflets of the same contents.
According to L. Barseghian, a group of policemen approached the
procession participants and demanded that they switch off the
loud-speaker, in response to which the latter started chanting:
"Struggle, struggle till the end!"
After repeating their demand several times, policemen used tear gas
against procession participants.
The arrested persons are being held at the Kentron unit of the police.