Epress.am News from Armenia
Yervand Karapetyan, who was detained by police outside the Armenian Public TV building earlier this afternoon, was later taken by an ambulance and accompanied by two officers to a psychiatric clinic to determine whether he has a mental illness or not. This news was conveyed to Epress.am by Karapetyan himself, who is a doctor by profession.
According to him, at the police station he refused to give explanations as he had already handed over his passport and had nothing to say. Police too apparently weren’t talking — nor were they responding to questions. Karapetyan informed Epress.am that he called a legal assistance center and asked them to alert the Human Rights Defender’s Office.
“At 11 am this morning, I was picketing on the sidewalk near the Public TV building entrance. I had a few placards: ‘The public broadcaster is violating the law,’ and the other one had a photo of [Armenian President] Serzh Sargsyan’s son-in-law, ‘Let’s get back the airwaves from Mishik [Sargsyan’s son-in-law]’ — according to information, which hasn’t been refuted, he controls the TV industry and is a TV magnate. Half an hour ago a few officers came without identifying themselves, contrary to my will, they pushed me at once into the [police] car and took me away. When I tried to understand what was happening and asked where they were taking me, the officers said they got a call that there’s a mentally ill person near the public TV building and they’re going to confirm this,” he said.
“When I said I have the right to picket, they told me you don’t because the Public TV is a strategic establishment,” he said.
Update: According to the Human Rights in Armenia website, Karapetyan was released at around 6 pm this evening. A team of three doctors came to the conclusion that Karapetyan does not have a mental illness, nor does he present a threat to society. When doctors expressed surprised and asked police officers why they assumed Karapetyan was mentally ill, the officers said, “Well, there was a call and we were obliged to check.”
Photo from Yervand Karapetyan’s personal Facebook page.