Policeman fired for beating protester in Yerevan

A policeman was fired after he got into the video showing him beating up a protester against the demolition of a café in Yerevan, the Armenian Police has reported.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 14, by decision of the Yerevan Mayoralty, two cafés in Freedom Square were demolished, despite protests of owners and employees. During the skirmishes of protesters with the police, four people were injured. 41 participants of the action were detained, 25 of them were released by the police by the end of the day.

"A video appeared on the Web, showing a policeman beating up a protester with his hands and feet," Ashot Agaronyan, the head of the PR Department of the Armenian Police, wrote in his Facebook page.

He has added that the policeman had already been dismissed under the order of Valery Osipyan, the police head; and an internal investigation has been launched by the internal security department.

In their comments to this post, social network users placed a link to the video, in which three law enforcers in red berets grab a person in civilian clothes. The man resists; and another man in civilian clothes pulls him back. During the brawl, a policeman strikes the man in the back.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 15, 2019 at 00:14 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.