More than 80 people were detained at protests in Yerevan

More than 80 people were detained on Friday at street protests in Yerevan. Demonstrators demand the resignation of the head of the Armenian government Nikol Pashinyan. They tried to block the entrance to the government building to prevent deputies and officials from entering.

Levon Kocharyan, the son of the second president of Armenia, is among the detainees. According to his lawyer, Kocharyan was beaten by the police during the arrest, and he was taken to the hospital. One of the leaders of the protest, former opposition deputy Andranik Tevanyan, was also detained, and he has already been released from the police department.

Demonstrations in Yerevan continue for the fourth day. They began after the Armenian government agreed to a truce in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian name – Artsakh) on Azerbaijan’s terms. Under these conditions, the unrecognized republic remains autonomous and comes under full Azerbaijani control.

Protesters demand that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resign, and that Nagorno-Karabakh be provided with military and humanitarian aid.

Yesterday, during the rally, the opposition called to block the streets of Yerevan starting this morning and to do so until Pashinyan is removed from power. “I assure you, with disciplined and joint efforts, this will happen in a very short time, even within a few days,” Andranik Tevanyan said.

Students and teachers of many educational institutions joined the protest (they announced a strike): Yerevan Medical University, Armenian-Russian University, French University in Armenia, students of the Yerevan branch of Moscow State University, Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema, students of Bryusov University.