Red Beret Officer Told Me to Hit My Head on the Ground: Gegham Nazaryan

Gegham Nazaryan, the head of the initiative "Truth for Generations," emerged from the police station where he had been taken this morning. Joining a discussion titled "Legal Challenges of Armenia," he recounted how he was apprehended.

"I was hurrying to attend this event. When I got out of the car and was walking here, I noticed three red berets roughly detaining a young girl. I sarcastically said, 'You’re doing the right thing, hold her tight, because I suspect it’s Ilham Aliyev himself,'" he explained. There was no response, and they continued to detain the girl while he made his way to the venue. He suddenly heard running footsteps behind him, not realizing they were after him as well, and three or four red beret officers attempted to detain him, with one instructing, 'Hit his head on the ground.'

"Four of them couldn't even move my arm, but then about 15-20 gathered. I felt they were breaking my arm, so I threw myself on the ground to at least avoid having my arm broken. Then they took me to the vehicle. I realized someone had instructed them to come after me," Nazaryan elaborated.

According to Nazaryan, today's incident vividly illustrates the conditions in which we live and the type of regime in power. In an interview with journalists, Gegham Nazaryan stated he did not know why he had been detained.

He noted that the treatment at the police station was different. "I reviewed the documents to see what was written: 'It was a fairy tale that I supposedly participated in a protest in front of the government building and did not comply with the police's legal demands, after which I was detained,'" he remarked.

Video: TERT.am