On the evening of Sunday, May 19th, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan wrote several statuses on his Facebook page regarding his plans for the next day. He began by saying that he will make an important announcement soon regarding changes that need to be made in the judicial system and how the people can once again assert their power in the country. He also said that he would be making an announcement the next afternoon at 12 PM about the second phase of the revolution. Then, Nikol Pashinyan requested that Armenian citizens gather around courts all across the country starting at 8:30 AM so that workers would not be able to enter the buildings.
Demonstrators have closed the doors of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan, Armenia protesting against the decision on Robert Kocharyan’s preventive measure
Demonstrators have closed the doors of the RA Constitutional Court protesting
Demonstrators have closed the doors of the RA Constitutional Court protesting
Starting in the early morning hours of Monday, May 20th, Armenian citizens and officials alike carried out the Prime Minister’s request and gathered around courts in all regions of the country. Similar to the revolution in 2018, Armenians taped posters to their cars and were chanting “Dukhov (be bold).” They prevented any workers from getting inside of the court buildings. Thus, workers attempted to enter the court buildings through other entrances, including windows, but citizens were successful in preventing them from doing so. Images have been circulating across social media of Armenian parliamentary deputies from Pashinyan’s party joining in on the action. Several officials, including the Catholicos and the Human Rights Defender, have called upon the Prime Minister to rescind his request due to the fact that the courts need to work every day to protect the rights of citizens. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian called upon citizens to keep order in the country and to uphold an atmosphere of peace and tolerance.
The protests are in favor of having an independent judicial system.