Order to use brute force by police issued by premier himself -  opposition MP

ArmInfo. The order to use brute and disproportionate force by the police against participants in 

peaceful protests, and in some cases, clearly brazen behavior of the police, was given directly by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan wrote on his 

Facebook account. 

"It was Pashinyan who justified and encouraged police brutality by 

making statements that gave the green light to the use of 

disproportionate force by law enforcement officers," the deputy 

emphasized.

He added that Pashinyan bears direct responsibility for these steps, 

but this in no way diminishes the personal responsibility for the 

willful behavior of the RA Minister of Internal Affairs Vache 

Ghazaryan.

On May 13, from the early morning, actions of disobedience resumed in 

Yerevan and other cities of the republic. Participants in the protest 

movement, organized by the Tavush for the Motherland organization, 

began blocking roads, which was met with harsh and sometimes harsh 

intervention from the police.  According to the latest data from the 

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 80 citizens have 

already been detained and taken to various police stations. All of 

these citizens were detained for failure to comply with the legal 

demands of government officials (under Article 182 of the Criminal 

Code of Armenia).  According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 

there are currently no closed or blocked streets in the Armenian 

capital.