Two Police Buses Flood the City with Batons: Kajaranians Raise the Alarm

Kajaranians have reported that today, May 25, numerous police forces have been concentrated in the city, creating an atmosphere of fear. One local resident, who requested anonymity, told NEWS.am, "Since early morning, the city has been filled with officers equipped with batons, and the atmosphere is terrifying; children are afraid to go outside. My 12-year-old grandchild was scared to leave the house today and cried. At this moment, there are two large police buses in the city."

The woman also revealed that participants of the protest held the day before were being fined. The police press department informed NEWS.am that they are conducting operations in Kajaran based on the situation.

It is worth recalling that arrests were made the day before in connection with a brawl in Kajaran. Following the incident, the citizens expressed their outrage during a mass gathering, stating that those arrested had been subjected to violence and announced they would not allow their transfer to Yerevan. After about two hours, the protesters agreed to end the action and applauded as the detainees were sent to Yerevan.

The mayor of Kajaran was also present at the protest and, according to the Investigative Committee's statement, he participated in the brawl as well.

During the preliminary investigation of the criminal case being handled by the Special Investigative Service, it was revealed that to clarify the circumstances of a dispute that took place between Kajaran residents G.M. and his friend K.T., a gathering was called by the community leader at a former restaurant building behind his gas station on April 26, 2020, around 8:00 PM, where approximately 20 people were present, leading to a fight.

On April 29, 2020, around 1:30 PM, employees of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine, B.H., his brother L.H., K.M., and M.S., employed violence in the combine's parking lot to abduct S.M. and transported him using a vehicle operated by K.M. to the territory of "Ajdhanak" LLC, where they assaulted him with A.H. and G.M.

After assaulting S.M. for about half an hour, they transferred him using a Toyota Prado to a residence owned by A.P. in the city of Agarak, where he was beaten again. The intervention of S.M.’s brother G.M. and A.P., along with unidentified individuals, led to the fight's cessation. During the investigation of the criminal case, a significant quantity of marijuana was found during a search at A.P.’s residence.

On May 24, 2020, K.M., M.S., and L.H. were arrested on suspicion of committing crimes under Article 131, Part 2, Item 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while A.P. was detained on suspicion of offenses specified under Article 268, Part 3 of the same code. Two of them were released today, as the court deemed their arrests unlawful.