Oppositionist arrested in Yerevan goes on protest hunger strike

Tigran Arakelyan, arrested activist of the youth wing of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), who was among the young men, attacked on July 1 by the police for dissemination of leaflets about an oppositional rally, has announced a hunger strike.

On July 1, at about 8:00 p.m. in one of the central streets of Yerevan - Abovyana Street - a skirmish burst out between ANC activists who notified the townspeople about the rally on July 2 and a group of armed strangers who suddenly attacked them trying to take away their leaflets and a loudspeaker. As a result of the clash, three representatives of the ANC - Saak Muradyan, Herbert Gevorkyan and Tigran Arakelyan - received traumas and were hospitalized.

According to Arakelyan's advocate, his client was arrested exclusively on the basis of policemen's evidences. On July 5, Tigran Arakelyan was invited as a witness to the police station; there, his status was changed into "a suspect", and he was arrested.

In their turn, the police insist that the incident was provoked by the ANC activists, who attacked law enforcers and began beating them. Tigran Arakelyan is accused of beating policeman Eric Pogosyan.