Detention of opponents of Amulsar mine triggers criticism of Pashinyan

The detention of opponents of gold mining at the Amulsar deposit during a peaceful rally is unlawful; Nikol Pashinyan should respond to policemen's actions against activists, the human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

On August 19, five activists, who opposed the operation of the Amulsar mine, were accused of disobeying police demands. Protocols on administrative offenses were drawn up against them. Another activist was taken to a hospital, where he stated that he had been struck by policemen.

The Premier, Nikol Pashinyan, should react to policemen's actions, Arthur Sakunts, a human rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, has stated to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on August 20. He has noted that it cannot be stated unequivocally that law enforcers had used disproportionate force against activists on the Premier's instruction, but if Pashinyan fails to duly react, there will be enough reason to assume that policemen had followed his order.

Avetik Ishkhanyan, a human rights defender and the head of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, has treated the detention of activists as "authorities' illegal actions against participants of a peaceful action."

"The action was absolutely peaceful, but at first the police didn't let activists into the parliament's park, and then used brutal and disproportionate force accompanied by detentions," Mr Ishkhanyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 21, 2019 at 01:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.