All activists detained in Bagramyan Avenue of Yerevan now released
All the demonstrators who were taken to police stations of the city of Yerevan early in the morning on September 12 have been released, Panorama.am learned from the press service of the Armenian police.
Administrative offense reports were drawn up regarding the activists detained in Bagramyan Avenue.
As was reported, activists of ‘No to Plunder’ civic initiative against a rise in power tariffs in Armenia staged a march on September 11 from Liberty Square to Bagramyan Avenue in Yerevan, thus paralyzing the traffic. Moreover, the rally organizers and participants ignored repeated warnings of the police to vacate the roadway of Bagramyan Avenue and continued blocking for several hours one of the major avenues in the capital city.
The Armenian police issued a statement around 11:00 pm on September 11. The statement in particular said that despite the illegal nature of the events, the police attache importance to the fact that rally participants and organizers should have enough time to inform the public, competent bodies and official of their demands. The organizers and participants of the unlawful rally were given an opportunity to voice their demands and voluntarily unblock Bagramyan Avenue within 6 hours.
When the deadline expired at 5:00 am September 12, a police officer proposed the demonstrators to continue the rally in Bagramyan Avenue’s section not intended for traffic or move to Liberty Square. He also warned that the police would be forced to unblock the avenue if police orders were not executed.
“The rally participants ignored this demand of the police as well. Upon expiration of the deadline, the Armenian police took measures to unblock Bagramyan Avenue. During the police operation, violators of the law were taken to police stations of Yerevan. Around 6 am the traffic flow was restored on Bagramyan Avenue,” the police statement said. 48 demonstrators were detained.