Hayk Marutyan on Being Barred from Yerevan City Hall

Former member of the Yerevan Council and former Mayor Hayk Marutyan is preparing to initiate legal proceedings after being denied entry to City Hall. This statement came during a protest event occurring simultaneously with a council meeting at the Yerevan City Hall, where Marutyan, who was recently stripped of his council mandate, spoke with reporters.

It is noteworthy that Marutyan was denied entry based on rules adopted one day before Tigran Avinyan's swearing-in, despite Article 29 of the local self-government law allowing other individuals to participate and speak at council meetings upon invitation from the mayor or council factions.

“I was supposed to have a five-minute speech, but these authorities are not allowing me to enter, violating all laws. This indicates one thing: these people did not want to carry out a revolution or improve the situation for the people. They simply wanted to replace Serzh Sargsyan and the Republican Party. After the revolution in 2018, similar situations and incidents did not occur during my term. That’s why my tenure lasted three years,” stated the former mayor.

When asked if the same situation would occur if he had continued his tenure, Marutyan assured that such a thing was impossible, as he had proven it over the past three years.