Tert.am

Opposition Youth March Forcibly Stopped by Police

13:27 ¢ 26.09.09

The march organized by opposition party Armenian National Congress
(HAK) youth didn’t take place yesterday.

Around 6:30 pm on Friday, HAK youth moved from the HAK central office
to Koryun street to Mashtots Avenue. At the very beginning of the
march, at the intersection of Koryun and Mashtots streets, a group of
police officers started persuading the participants in the march not
to shout `Serzhik, Go Away!’ Immediately afterwards, police informed
protesters that the march must come to an end, since from `this moment
on, the march is illegal.’

The youth, insisting that their march was legal, gradually moved
forward. Police decided to disperse participants and began pushing the
protestors. The shoving continued until the youth reached the
intersection of Sayat Nova and Mashtots, near the Opera, where the
number of police officers increased; eventually, they forced
protestors to return to HAK office on Koryun Street.

During this process, protestors, using a megaphone, continued to shout
`shame, shame,’ while informing citizens that police had attacked
them.

Reaching the HAK office, police forced participants inside the
building and closed the door. Some of the youth remained outside the
building with HAK Coordinator Levon Zurabian, who explained to the
police that the march was legal. At that very moment, police forced
20-year old Vardan Harutyunyan into a car and took him to the central
police station. Immediately afterwards, a group of Pan-Armenian
National Movement participants headed for the police station.

Three hours later, Harutyunyan was released. Speaking with
journalists, his lawyer said that the police had checked Harutyunyan’s
ID. He also said that his client was neither oppressed nor assaulted
by police while in custody.