15:36, 3 March 2017

Yerevan strikers report police’s attempt to stop action

Organizer of a sit-in strike Shagen Arutyunyan. Photo by Armine Martirosyan for the 'Caucasian Knot'.

This morning, policemen have demanded from the sit-in strikers in support of Arthur Sargsyan, arrested for helping members of the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment, to leave Freedom Square in Yerevan, said Shagen Arutyunyan, the initiator of the strike.

On July 17-31, members of the group "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sassoun) created by supporters of the opposition movement "Constituent Parliament" captured the building of the police regiment in Yerevan. At night of July 26, Arthur Sargsyan broke through the police cordon around the building and delivered food for the rebels. The court pronounced the pre-trial restriction measure to Arthur Sargsyan. The activist is suspected of assistance in hostage-taking and illegal purchase and possession of weapons.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the evening on February 27, after the protest action in support of the oppositional leader Arthur Sargsyan, Shagen Arutyunyan began a sit-in strike. On February 28, some 30 people joined the strike; and about a hundred activists held a march along central streets of Yerevan in support of their arrested colleague.

"Today, the police have demanded to abandon the square with all our belongings," Shagen Arutyunyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, law enforcers said that the building of the Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is a historical and cultural object; and, accordingly, the territory around it should be absolutely clean.

"They offered us to stop the strike in the daytime; and come to continue it at night, but we're not going to leave the place; we’ll continue the strike here", said Arutyunyan.

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

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent