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Opposition activist Avetik Chalabyan, a member of the HayaKve initiative, accused the Armenian government of hindering the collection of signatures by the civic group in Yerevan.

Last week, the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia (CEC) allowed the HayaKve initiative to launch a signature collection for its draft law seeking to criminalize the recognition of Artsakh as part of any other country and the renunciation of the Armenian Genocide recognition. The group needs to collect 50,000 signatures to introduce the bill in the parliament.

Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan on Monday, Chalabyan claimed heads of a number of Yerevan districts had refused to provide spaces for the collection of signatures in the Armenian capital over the past week in violation of the referendum law. He said they cited a decision by the caretaker Yerevan Mayor, Levon Hovhannisyan.

"On the one hand, dictator Aliyev violates the fundamental rights of the Artsakh people, on the other hand, his partner Nikol Pashinyan infringes upon the rights of the Yerevan residents through his associates. We are dealing with hostile actions against the Armenian people both from within and from outside the country,” Chalabyan stressed.

The HayaKve initiative has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office over the obstacles created by the officials.