Residents of Armenian town hostel protest outside government to decry police actions
Residents of a hostel in the Armenian town of Yeghvard, forced out of their homes on Tuesday, are staging a protest outside the government building in downtown Yerevan.
Angered by police misconduct and brutality, demonstrators are demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to have the issue resolved.
The residents have been told for years the building belongs to a person identified as Gurgen Zakaryan and have been asked to leave the apartments.
One of the protesters claimed police officers broke into the hostel on Tuesday morning and forced the residents out of their homes, using violence against them.
Speaking to reporters, one of the children residing in the hostel, Alisa Azizbekyan said she returned home halfway from a training to come across a group of police officers outside the building. She insists they pushed her around and didn’t allow her to enter the house.
According to her, officers blocked entry to the hostel, broke the doors of the apartments and took money and passports.
Another protester Varsenik Abgaryan says most of the families living in the hostel have many children, suffer from disabilities and live in poor conditions. She stressed she too has a multi-child family, with her husband and children having health problems.
Protesters don’t believe police claims that the Armenian PM was aware of their actions. They state they have worked hard to restore their homes for years but now left with nothing now.
The residents also claim they have recorded a video showing the brutality of police officers.