In Yerevan, rebels with hostages deprived of food supplies

Today, at the action, David Sanasaryan, a member of the Yerevan Council of Elders from the "Hello, Yerevan!", has stated that for the third day, members of the "Constituent Parliament" and the police officers held hostage stay without food.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 20, the police refused to permit the supply of food for people inside the seized building of the patrol-and-service police regiment. Since July 17, supporters of the "Constituent Parliament" held hostage inside the building, and that resulted in clashes between demonstrators and policemen. As of today, 34 people hospitalized after the riots still stay in hospitals. According to the police, 136 people were detained during the dispersal of the demonstration.

David Sanasaryan, a member of the Yerevan Council of Elders, has asked the police to invite a top-ranking law enforcer in charge for negotiations to solve the food problem, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

David Sanasaryan has also appealed for assistance in resolving the problem to the Yerevan Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the Armenian Ombudsman. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by the member of the Yerevan Council of Elders himself.

According to Lala Mnatsakanyan, Honoured Actress of Armenia, she has come to the action "to help addressing the humanitarian issue of food supply to the rebels and their hostages." "I do not remember such a precedent when people were forced to hunger," Lala Mnatsakanyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"I heard that prisoners may voluntarily go on hunger strike to urge administration to fulfil their demands. However, it's a kind of new case for me to hear that people are forced to hunger," said Lala Mnatsakanyan.

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