Yerevan holds action demanding to exempt ANC activists from criminal responsibility

Today, in Yerevan, a protest action was held to support four activists of the opposition party "Armenian National Congress" (ANC), who were sentenced for disorderly conduct and disobeying the police. At the protest action, the ANC representatives have claimed growing tension between the public and the authorities.

On July 20, 2012, the activists of the "Armenian National Congress" Tigran Arakelyan, Artak Karapetyan, David Kiramidjyan, and Sarkis Gevorkyan were sentenced to 2-6 years of imprisonment. The court found them guilty of disorderly conduct and disobeying policemen in the conflict of August 9, 2011, between a group of young people and law enforcers of Yerevan.

The today's protest action took place near the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia, and it was attended by about 40 persons, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The audience was attended by Levon Zurabyan and Aram Manukyan, both Deputy Chairmen of the ANC.

Aram Manukyan has stated that in the course of protest actions, political issues play constantly growing role. According to his version, the conflicts of the public and the authorities arise because of sharp rise in prices in the country, including tariffs for housing and communal services and tuition fees, and they can lead to explosion even in the most passive layers of the population.