In Armenia, investigators announce detention of rioter in Gyumri

Armenian law enforcers report about detention of Mnatsakan Aleksanyan in Gyumri, who is suspected of the riots at the General Consulate of Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on January 12, in Gyumri, six members of the Avetisyan family were assassinated. The only survivor of the attack – the six-month-old Sergey Avetisyan – was hospitalized in critical condition and died in hospital on January 19. A Russian regular soldier Valery Permyakov was arrested as a suspect of committing the massacre. The mass murder in Gyumri triggered a wave of protests that escalated into clashes with the police. Protesters demanded that Permyakov to be tried in Armenia. 28 protesters in Yerevan and 13 protesters in Gyumri were detained; later they all were released from the police station. In the end of January police began searching for the suspected organizers of the riots.

Detained Mnatsakan Aleksanyan is a suspect in the case instituted under Articles of "Hooliganism" and "Use of violence against a representative of authorities", the "Interfax" reports with reference to the Investigating Committee of Armenia.

Mnatsakan Aleksanyan, a 22-year-old resident of the village of Sarnakhbyur of the Shirak Region, was detained on February 4. He was brought to the Investigating Department of the city of Maralik of the Shirak Region. He was summoned to the police without a subpoena, and at about 7:00 p.m., he was detained.

"Instead of catching and neutralizing the real criminals, the murderers, the Armenian police detained a young man, who expressed his fair protest against the lawlessness and who put forward the demand in the name of the dignity of Armenia. Policemen prepare to suppress a wave of protest against the rejection of the fair demand," commented Zarui Postandjyan, an MP from the parliamentary faction "Heritage", on the detention of Mnatsakan Aleksanyan, as quoted by the "Armenia Today".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.