Harutiunian said the police actions, which have involved brief detentions of some opposition activists, run counter to an Armenian law on demonstrations and other street protests.
The so-called “political strolls” on a section of the city’s Northern Avenue became a daily occurrence in March last year after the lifting of emergency rule imposed in the Armenian capital following deadly street clashes between security forces and opposition protesters. Scores of police officers were deployed there on April 8 to put an end to the gatherings typically attended by between 100 and 200 people.
Yerevan residents’ access to the pedestrian area during evening hours has been seriously restricted since then, with the police using force to prevent opposition supporters from even getting close to it. Some of them have been chased hundreds of meters away from Northern Avenue.
Such scenes could again be observed there on Tuesday evening. “I was going there on business but they didn’t let me through,” one young man told RFE/RL after being turned away from Northern Avenue.
“This is a disgrace,” said a female opposition supporter. “I was sitting there when a policeman started pushing and telling me to go away. Why should I go? Don’t I have the right to walk and breathe in my country?”
The police say they are acting on complaints from owners of nearby shops and restaurants that claimed to have suffered financial losses as a result of the opposition protests.
In a written statement, Harutiunian rejected the this explanation, saying that the police actions do not stem from provisions of the law on demonstrations that spell out cases where street protests can be broken up by force. He also said that “the fact of business entities carrying out commercial activities alone can not be sufficient grounds for banning a gathering.”
“Once again we are seeing that law-enforcement bodies interpret a legal provision too broadly and to the detriment of civil rights,” Harutiunian said in a separate interview with RFE/RL. He complained that even representatives of his office were not allowed by the police to stand near Northern Avenue.
Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), dismissed the ombudsman’s latest criticism of law-enforcement authorities. “Until now we have seen no tangible benefits from the institution of the human rights defender,” said Zurabian. “Nor have we seen any concrete results produced by their actions. The police continue to flagrantly violate citizens’ rights.”
The so-called “political strolls” on a section of the city’s Northern Avenue became a daily occurrence in March last year after the lifting of emergency rule imposed in the Armenian capital following deadly street clashes between security forces and opposition protesters. Scores of police officers were deployed there on April 8 to put an end to the gatherings typically attended by between 100 and 200 people.
Yerevan residents’ access to the pedestrian area during evening hours has been seriously restricted since then, with the police using force to prevent opposition supporters from even getting close to it. Some of them have been chased hundreds of meters away from Northern Avenue.
Such scenes could again be observed there on Tuesday evening. “I was going there on business but they didn’t let me through,” one young man told RFE/RL after being turned away from Northern Avenue.
“This is a disgrace,” said a female opposition supporter. “I was sitting there when a policeman started pushing and telling me to go away. Why should I go? Don’t I have the right to walk and breathe in my country?”
The police say they are acting on complaints from owners of nearby shops and restaurants that claimed to have suffered financial losses as a result of the opposition protests.
In a written statement, Harutiunian rejected the this explanation, saying that the police actions do not stem from provisions of the law on demonstrations that spell out cases where street protests can be broken up by force. He also said that “the fact of business entities carrying out commercial activities alone can not be sufficient grounds for banning a gathering.”
“Once again we are seeing that law-enforcement bodies interpret a legal provision too broadly and to the detriment of civil rights,” Harutiunian said in a separate interview with RFE/RL. He complained that even representatives of his office were not allowed by the police to stand near Northern Avenue.
Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), dismissed the ombudsman’s latest criticism of law-enforcement authorities. “Until now we have seen no tangible benefits from the institution of the human rights defender,” said Zurabian. “Nor have we seen any concrete results produced by their actions. The police continue to flagrantly violate citizens’ rights.”