On the evening of Sunday, June 9, the rally of the “Tavush for the Motherland” movement began in Republic Square. Chants of “Nikol, traitor” echoed throughout the square. At the start of the rally, a documentary film depicting police violence against movement participants was shown.
Human rights activist and former Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, Ruben Melikyan, addressed the crowd, saying, “We see how they beat people. Has even one police officer been held accountable? Until a police officer is called to account, any action against citizens, including arrest and detention, is illegal.”
Melikyan listed the names of those detained and under house arrest, stating, “These people are political prisoners because they are subjected to a differentiated approach.”
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He also named all loyers and human rights activists currently working to protect people’s rights, emphasizing, “Only a high-quality judiciary can prevent these atrocities from happening again. Our dream is that there will never be political prisoners in our country.”
Ruben Melikyan concluded by noting that while there are professionals within the HRD, he and his four human rights partners wish to present a red beret to the RA HRD, stating, “The HRD of the Republic of Armenia excellently defends the rights of the Red Beret police group.”
Tatev Harutyunyan
