Armenia has arrested nine people accused of participating in anti-government riots after the country’s defeat in war with Azerbaijan back in November 2020. The arrests took place four years after the violent protests that swept through Armenia.
Hundreds of protesters stormed into the Armenian Parliament and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office in Yerevan on November 10, 2020, hours after the signing of the peace deal that cemented Azerbaijan’s victory in the war over Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The arrests were made jointly by Armenia’ National Security Service (NSS) and the Investigative Committee. The Investigative Committee said the suspects were among the violent protesters who broke into the government buildings and were also involved in the beating of parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, who now serves as Armenia’s foreign minister.
The court ruled that the suspect whose identities have not been revealed, stay in a pre-trial custody on charges of “mass disturbances.” It’s unclear whether the suspects will plead guilty.
Addressing the parliament on May 12, the head of the Investigative Committee, Artur Poghosian, said more men will be charged in connection with the 2020 riots soon. He described the criminal case as one of his top priorities. It should be noted that Armenia’s National Security Service indicted about 50 people and arrested 18 of them in the wake of the protests.
The riots were followed by weeks of anti-government protests against the government’s handling of the war that left at least 3,800 Armenian soldiers dead.
