The mayor of Meghri, Mkhitar Zakaryan, is currently at the Investigative Committee building. His supporters are gathered outside of the building. After Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Syunik on Wednesday, law enforcement agents are either taking into custody or interrogating several mayors and citizens from the Syunik Province. Pro-government forces have been sharing news since Wednesday that Mkhitar Zakaryan is the one organizing protests against Nikol Pashinyan.
Anna Grigoryan, a deputy from Syunik who had left My Step, told reporters, “For the most part, these arrests aren’t surprising because Nikol Pashinyan said at the Syunik regional administration building that participants in the protests must be publicly punished.
It’s not clear why the mayor of Meghri is also part of this, but this is, essentially, political revenge, and it means nothing legally. They’re saying that they took the mayor of Meghri into custody for hooliganism, but what did he do? He simply came because he could not remain indifferent to see what was going on, and he tried to calm the situation to prevent clashes. And they took him into custody for that.”
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Anna Grigoryan also said that not only the mayors, but Pashinyan’s local team and deputies were unaware of Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Syunik. “A deputy from Syunik, Karen Hambardzumyan, said that he did not know about it in response to a reporter’s question. Therefore, it was a surprise to everyone. If no one was aware of this visit, how can they say that the protests were pre-organized?”
Luiza Sukiasyan
