Police set activists detained in Yerevan free

The count of the detained opponents of the Armenian Minister of Education reached 24, but they were all released after drawing up protocols on disobeying policemen. Activists themselves have refused to plead guilty.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since November 4, the youth wing of the ARF (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) "Dashnaktsutyun" have been demanding resignation of Araik Arutyunyan, the Minister of Education. Starting November 6, they were complemented by the students, who are holding a strike against the initiative of the Ministry of Education (MoE) to make optional the study of the history of Armenia, the Armenian language and literature at non-humanitarian departments of higher schools.

On December 3, youth activists of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" resumed their action demanding to meet the head of the MoE. They tried to break through to the minister, and then blocked the road. Policemen used force to oust the protesters from the building and unblock the traffic, and detained 24 persons.

Later, they were all released, as Armand Gabriela, the head of the media relations division of the Armenian Police, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Protocols on administrative offenses have been drawn up against the detainees under Article 182 of the Armenian Code of Administrative Offenses (disobedience to policemen's lawful demands), said the police source.

Almost all the detainees are ARF activists; none of them has pled guilty of committing the indicted offenses; they refused to sign the protocols, Gore Sargsyan, a member of the youth wing of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Our action was peaceful; its aim was to meet the MoE head. Now, I'm waiting for a summon to the court," Mr Sargsyan has emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 3, 2019 at 11:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.