A while ago, Mayor of Kajaran Manvel Paramazyan exited the building of the police station in Kapan and told the gathered citizens that he had seen all the detained boys and they had all been exposed to violence.
This intensified the situation. The detainees’ relatives complained, Paramazyan stopped the clash with the police and called on them to not give in to provocations.
“Yes, we love and respect our police officers. They are innocent. We know how this all started, but I ask everyone to not give in to provocations and not use violence. There will be people who will make provocations, but we won’t let them join us,” he said and called on everyone to stay in front of the building until the demands are met.
Earlier, Governor of Syunik Province Hunan Poghosyan had met with the demonstrators, but failed to convince them to leave. After Paramazyan came, Hunan Poghosyan entered the police building.
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.
