'Manhunt' continues in Khorenatis street: Policemen detain nearly everyone /updated/ (video)
22.37 Police cars and buses full of policemen have returned to Khorenatsi street. 21.40 A young man who introduced himself as a human rights activist came to Khorenatsi street to call the sides for humanity and to ask the police to stop ungrounded detentions. The police took away the young man introduced himself as Haykaz Makaryan but set him free in some 15 minutes. The human rights activist was very angered by the police actions and explained to those gathered in the street (mostly journalists and cameramen) the corresponding law, which he said, ‘is grossly violated by the police.’ 20.03 Members of the Civil Contract political party and Ani Zakharyan were taken to police stations from Tumanyan street. 19.55 More police forces are showing up in Khorenatsi street where people are being rounded up by the police without explanation. More than 50 buses full of police officers have arrived in the street. In the meantime, Alek Yenigomshyan and Armenyan Kyureghyan from the Founding Parliament movement informed citizens that the rally planned to be held in Khorenatsi street this evening will be held at Liberty Square and urge everyone to gather there right now.
19.15 Police continue detaining people near the blocked section of Khorenatsi street leading to the seized police station. Heritage party representatives David Sanasaryan and Armen Martirosyan were among them.
Parallel to detentions, a police officer announces regularly over a loudspeaker that the rally is banned in the street and should be held in another venue for security reasons18.48 Ruzanna Stepanyan, chief editor of newspress.am website, has been taken to a police station from Khorenatsi street today. The police said they need to identify her identity first.
18.00 Civil activist Vardges Gaspari has just popped up in Khorenatsi street with a poster in his hand. Hardly was he seen in the street when he was approached by a group of policemen. As usual, Gaspari lay down on the ground but this time the police did not allow him to lie there for a long time. they took him to a police station immediately.
17.50 “Can we go down and buy bread or will you detain us, too?” people of the nearby building ask the police officers.
17.43 Police are even detaining women. The woman in black is the mother of a soldier who died in the military in non-combat conditions.
As reported earlier, 64 people were detained from the street this night. One of the detainees, Armen Mikaelyan, who is a member of the Founding Parliament movement, has been placed under arrest allegedly for carrying an illegal firearm. Levon Barseghyan, Chairman of the Asparez Journalists’ Club, who was also detained at night, is still kept in a police station.
On July 27, eleven days after the takeover of a patrol police station in Yerevan’s Erebuni district by the Sasna Dzrer armed group, a firefight took place in the area of the seized police compound. Two members of the group, Pavel Manukyan and Aram Manukyan, as well as one police officer were wounded in the shootout. They were rushed to the Erebuni medical centre and remain in the intensive care unit. Doctors describe their condition as critical. Pavel Manukyan is on artificial ventilation. The policeman who was also wounded in his leg is in stable condition.
Two more members of the armed group, Gagik Yeghiazaryan and Aram Hakobyan, were caught by the police.
