Epress.am News from Armenia
A group of people held a demonstration today between 12 and 2 pm outside the National Security Service (NSS) building in Yerevan in defense of political activist Shant Harutyunyan and his supporters who were arrested on Nov. 5 when they attempted to walk to the presidential palace to start a "revolution".
Attending today's demonstration were about 30 people who had heard that Harutyunyan would be taken to a psychiatric clinic — a move they hoped to prevent with their demonstration today. Note, Harutyunyan is being kept in the Yerevan Kentron penitentiary in the basement of the NSS building (which previously belonged to the KGB).
Demonstrators held signs that read "This is still Shant, but we are the lighting" (the name "Shant" in Armenian means "lightning"), "No to the Customs Union" and "Armenia without Putin". Police didn't allow demonstrators to stand outside the building, and so they chanted their slogans from the opposite side of the street.
Journalists asked demonstrators why they also brought signs against Armenia joining the Russian-led Customs Union. In response, organizers reminded them that Shant Harutyunyan's struggle was against Russian imperialism and that's why he is now in custody. Also, demonstrators also didn't consider it odd that there were fewer people demonstrating outside the NSS building than at the previous demonstration. According to them, people are afraid of the NSS building.