Authorities Refuse to Explain Grounds for Detaining 7 Members of 'VETO'

The 'VETO' initiative has issued a statement regarding an incident that occurred this morning, noting that police refused to answer questions about the grounds for detaining seven members of the 'VETO' movement.

On this day, July 13, a large police force illegally detained 'VETO' founding member Narek Malyan, as well as initiative group members Robert Melkonyan, Anna Hakobyan, Sasun Malyan, Albert Unusyan, Mher Almoyan, Ani Hovhannisyan, who is also the editor-in-chief of Analitik.am, and other citizens present on the scene, using force.

At this moment, 15 citizens have been detained in the Ararat region's police departments. The police have refused to answer questions about the grounds for detaining the seven members of the 'VETO' movement.

These arrests are undoubtedly illegal and baseless, ordered by political authorities, aiming to limit citizens' right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. We call on journalists and human rights defenders to respond to these illegal events,” the statement reads.