YEREVAN. – Employees of the AIDS prevention center of Armenia are holding a protest outside the government building today. They demand that a professional discussion be held on the merger of the two medical centers.

By the decision of Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan, the Republican Center for AIDS Prevention and the "Nork" Republican Infectious Clinical Hospital in Yerevan shall be merged. The staff of the center disagrees with the minister's decision and has expressed its dissatisfaction.

The Republican Center for AIDS Prevention posted on Facebook that by Minister Torosyan's order, center director Samvel Grigoryan had been dismissed on February 25. By another ministerial order, Artur Berberyan was appointed acting director of the center.

Yesterday, police apprehended Aram Hakobyan, deputy director of the center. After his release, he told reporters that he had been apprehended on suspicion of committing arbitration.