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A total of 502 lawyers have joined the call for the resignation of Armenian Police Chief and Deputy Interior Minister Aram Hovhannisyan, lawyer Ara Zohrabyan told reporters at a protest in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates announced three-day strikes this week to show support for the lawyers ill-treated by police officers.

Scores of lawyers started a march towards the building of the Interior Ministry on Tuesday morning.

Dubbing the police chief an “enemy of advocacy”, lawyers hold Hovhannisyan responsible for the recent cases of police violence against their colleagues.

Lawyer Karen Alaverdyan was assaulted and detained while trying to stop police officers from kicking and punching his client at the police headquarters of Yerevan’s Kentron district in early June.

Two other lawyers claimed to have been ill-treated at a Yerevan police station in February while representing their client. None of the officers accused of beating up the lawyers have been sacked.

“If the police chief had adequately responded to the incidents and started legal action against the police officers accused of violence, we would not have targeted him,” Zohrabyan said.

He warned that the lawyers would take “tougher measures” if their demands were neglected.