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A protest demanding the release of opposition politician Armen Ashotyan was held in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Ashotyan, deputy head of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), was arrested on 16 June on charges of abuse of power and money laundering strongly denied by him as politically motivated.

Chanting “Nikol is a traitor!” and "Freedom to political prisoner Armen Ashotyan!”, the demonstrators marched to the headquarters of the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office in central Yerevan.

The stressed the politician’s arrest was aimed at silencing him and stopping him from criticizing Nikol Pashinyan’s government.

Addressing the chief prosecutor at the protest, RPA Youth Union leader Henrikh Danielyan said: “The regime of traitors is trying to silence the national figures, bringing trumped-up charges against them. We are here to tell you not to become a tool in the hands of Nikol Pashinyan and not to back the actions of those serving the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. We won't remain silent. We've been fighting and won’t step back.”