Human Rights Defenders Stage Protest in Yerevan, Police Give 14 Minutes to Clear the Street

In a symbolic protest, the initiative group of five human rights defenders conducted an action at the end of Republic Avenue in Yerevan. The defenders aimed to draw the attention of local and international organizations dealing with human rights, as well as embassies, by conducting an illustrative examination of the incident site, searching for the honor of the police, which they claimed to have "lost" on May 27 when dozens of officers attacked opposition MP Ashot Simonyan.

On May 27, nearly two dozen police officers had surrounded the MP of the "Armenia" faction of the National Assembly, Ashot Simonyan (a member of the ARF), with 1-2 of them hitting and pulling him while apprehending him, despite Simonyan having presented his parliamentary ID to the police. Later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that an internal investigation was launched regarding the incident, resulting in the suspension of one police officer's powers.

During the protest, the police approached the defenders and gave them 14 minutes to clear the street. The demonstration lasted for 29 minutes, after which the human rights defenders opened that section of Republic Avenue.