Party leader in Armenia is charged in context of Yerevan riots

During the riots in Khorenatsi Street in Yerevan, Ani Zakaryan, the leader of the "New Political Culture" Party, urged supporters of the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment to break the glass of a police car, investigators assert. Ms Zakaryan has treated the charges as politically motivated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in July this year, an armed group named "Sasna Tsrer" captured the building of a police regiment in Yerevan and held it captured for two weeks. On July 20, there were clashes of demonstrators with power agents in Khorenatsi Street. According to law enforcement, 136 people were detained.

Ani Zakaryan, the leader of the above party, who figured as a witness in the case of the riots, has now stated that she is accused, on the basis of policemen's testimonies, of inciting people to damage the police property. She is under a threat of up to four years in prison.

Ani Zakaryan had once been a member of the ruling Republican Party, but went into opposition and in 2012 founded the "New Political Culture" Party.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.