Governor of Syunik Province of Armenia Hunan Poghosyan has arrived in Kapan where citizens of Kajaran, who have been standing in front of the police station for a couple of hours, are demanding the release of the detained citizens of Kajaran and are declaring that they had been exposed to violence at the police station.
Poghosyan is trying to convince the citizens of Kajaran to trust investigators and is assuring them that the guilty person will be punished after official investigation into the case of exposure to violence. He also called on the citizens to calm down and stop the protest.
One of the protesters got frustrated and said the regional governor was supposed to protect the protesters, not convince them.
The regional governor offered to meet with about 15 relatives to discuss the matter and understand the situation. He also called on the gathered to not let anyone take advantage of this situation.
As reported earlier, the situation in Kapan is tense. Several residents of Kajaran town have gathered in front of the police building with the demand to release their fellow citizens who were apprehended and later detained and not to transport them to Yerevan. According to the information of the relatives gathered in front of the building, the apprehended were beaten at the police station, but the police refute news about use of violence. There are three detainees, and another person by the name of Nver Khachatryan was apprehended by mistake and released. There are bruises on his body. The gathered demand that the arrestees aren’t transported to Yerevan and that the investigation is conducted in Syunik Province since they fear that the arrestees will be beaten more brutally in Yerevan. They threaten to close down roads. Head of Kajaran town Manvel Paramazyan has declared that this is political repression against him, adding that a few days ago police officers conducted searches in his apartment and his close ones’ apartments, after which residents of Kajaran were detained for no reason and through the use of violence.