A group of residents of Vanadzor, the third-largest city of Armenia, held a rally Thursday to express their support to mayor Mamikon Aslanyan, who has won the local elections, but was arrested Wednesday.

Also, they held a large banner that read: "Freedom to Mamikon Aslanyan."

"People have come to stand up for their vote. The ‘Mamikon Aslanyan’ Bloc won the December 5 elections by a clear margin, but the authorities are unable to accept it and use such force, which is unacceptable. We have one demand: to release Mamikon Aslanyan immediately," said one of the protesters.

Also, Aslanyan's supporters had issued a respective statement Wednesday.