ArmInfo.A group of Armenian human rights defenders holds a protest in front of the National Assembly.
This was reported by the parliamentary correspondent of ArmInfo. They demand that the government allow peaceful assemblies during the state of emergency. Among them are opposition figures such as the former Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, former Ombudsman of Artsakh Ruben Melikyan, as well as the first Ombudsman of the Republic of Armenia Larisa Alaverdyan. Melikyan noted that the government failed the fight against coronavirus and that citizens should be allowed to hold peaceful meetings in compliance with all safety rules.
In turn, Larisa Alaverdyan stated that such bans are not only a violation of the rights of citizens, but also the legislation of Armenia. <The easiest way to dismiss meetings is to simply ban them. I do not believe that the situation with the coronavirus can be resolved simply by banning peaceful assemblies>, Alaverdyan concluded.
Anna Kostanyan, an opposition MP from the Bright Armenia faction, came to the protesters, the latter promised that she would raise this issue today during a special meeting in parliament. According to them, the rally is held in front of the parliament building not by chance, since today the lawmakers, in the course of discussing the extension of the state of emergency in Armenia, have the authority to remove this restriction. It should be noted that since March 16, in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the state of emergency was introduced in Armenia. During this regime, various meetings are prohibited. During an extraordinary government meeting on June 12, it was decided to extend the state of emergency until July 13.