Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

The atmosphere in Yerevan is again stressful as dozens of people have launched new wave of protests against imprisonment of political prisoners.

A protest action held in front of President Serzh Sargsyan’s residency on February 24 aimed to protest against the arrest of the famous civil activist, Vardges Gaspari. Being a supporter of the opposition National Congress of Armenia, Gaspari was detained on suspicion of insulting judges and police.

Armenia’s Special Investigation Service accused the activist, who is observer at the anti-corruption Transparency International Center, of impeding the work of the electoral commission during the referendum held on December 6, 2015. It is worth noting that after the referendum, the opposition accused the government of the election fraud, while observers have expressed distrust of the voting results.

Then, the referendum on constitutional amendments caused a big scandal, as the government was accused of fraud and falsification. Despite numerous public protests against this initiative, the authorities remained deaf, going towards its goal to retain the power.

Immediately after the referendum, a wave of protests embraced the country’s cities. The organizers demanded the resignation of the authorities and holding early parliamentary and presidential elections.

The protesters believe that Gaspari was imprisoned for political reasons.

"The action was planned in front of the presidential residence, as he [the president] is the one who ordered Gaspari’s arrest,” said activist Michael Nazaryan. "We demand the release of all political prisoners."

During the protest, three activists lay down on the roadway, blocking traffic on the Baghramyan Avenue. However, the police dispersed the protesters, while seven activists were taken to the police station.

Protest actions are not a rare case in Armenia. The protest actions against the electricity price hike in 2015 were one of the strongest rallies that took place in this country in past three years.

The most famous and scandalous rallies were series of mass protests held in the wake of the Armenian presidential election in 2008. The protests began on February 20, lasted for 10 days and involved tens of thousands of demonstrators during the day and hundreds camping out overnight.

Despite the urges of the government to stop the demonstrations, the protests continued until March 1.On the morning of March 1, police and army units dispersed 700-1,000 persons who remained overnight, beating them with truncheons and electric-shock devices.

--

Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz