Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

Today, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor made a crime report to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office with respect to actions of policemen and an officer of the National Security Service, who interfered in the peaceful protest rally of foreign citizens at the Lusavorich-Zakyan  crossroads in Yerevan. 

Rally participants were holding posters reading “MAKE PEACE, NOT WAR”,  “НЕТ путинской ВОЙНЕ” and other similar expressions, by thus expressing their discontent with respect to the war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, since it entails death of thousands of civilians. 

As seen in the video, the RA Police officers approach the rally participants and demand to present their identity documents and leave the territory, threatening that otherwise they would apprehend everyone to the police division. With this unnecessary interference and ungrounded demands, the policemen impeded their right to peaceful assembly. Moreover, the NSS officer illegally demands the passport of one of the rally participants, takes a photo of it and threatens that after they are identified, the data will be handed to the Embassy of the Russian Federation for them to know what their citizens are doing in the Republic of Armenia. In addition, the police officers make false claims as if foreign citizens do not have the right to make an assembly in the Republic of Armenia. 

The police officers were also preventing passers-by from seeing what was written on the posters. 

In the report presented to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office, HCA Vanadzor demanded measures to investigate these facts, and in case of disclosing crime features, to initiate a criminal case, find those responsible and hold them liable.