Dozens Protesting Gyumri Mayor’s Arrest Prosecuted

Gyumri erupts after mayor’s arrest: “This is an operation against democracy itself,” say opposition

YEREVAN — Armenia’s second-largest city has erupted into turmoil following the dramatic detention of Vardan Ghukasyan, Gyumri’s elected mayor, in what opposition leaders describe as a politically motivated operation designed to intimidate the public ahead of national elections. At dawn on Tuesday, heavily armed officers from the National Security Service (NSS) stormed the Gyumri City Hall, forcing Ghukasyan to the ground and detaining him along …

Dozens Protesting Gyumri Mayor’s Arrest Prosecuted

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Law-enforcement authorities made more arrests in Gyumri on Wednesday, raising to 37 the total number of people taken into custody in connection with Monday’s angry protests sparked by the arrest of the city’s opposition mayor. Mayor Vartan Ghukasyan, the city’s chief architect and six other persons were arrested three weeks after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pledged to oust him. They all are facing corruption accusations…