Journalist Detained, Injured, and Criminal Case Launched Against Her: Hraparak

Yesterday evening, police detained 25 young individuals in front of the Marriott hotel in Yerevan, including Ani Nahapetyan, a journalist from "Yerevan Media." As reported by Hraparak, a group of young people, some of whom were affiliated with political parties, were protesting against Azerbaijani delegates arriving in Armenia. Ani was fulfilling her journalistic duties by covering the protest. However, the police, despite recognizing her as a journalist, also detained her and initiated a criminal case against her on charges of hooliganism.

“The police clarification stated that we allegedly committed hooliganism by shouting 'Nikol, traitor' and 'Nikol, Turkish' for about five minutes, after which we uttered sexual insults,” Ani Nahapetyan stated to Hraparak.am.

The news outlet inquired if she herself used any insults. “I did not. That is also mentioned in my clarification. I was in front of the Marriott to take pictures. However, when I said I am a journalist and you cannot detain me, they replied, 'We don’t care who you are,' and pushed me into the police car. Once we arrived at the police station, I reiterated that I was a journalist, but they said, 'It doesn't matter, you're already here,' and I was held for five hours,” she explained.

Ani further stated that she did not insult anyone or yell anything inappropriate. She also witnessed inhumane treatment of the detained young people by the red beret police officers, who also pulled and insulted her: “They pulled and insulted me while leading me away, but inside, they treated me normally. However, I cannot say the same for the other young men.”

Ani emphasized that she does not consider herself a hooligan; on the contrary, she was covering a protest against the Azerbaijani delegation's visit to Yerevan, which is not hooliganism.