Armenian street art group Hakaharvats (Counter Strike) member Artak Gevorgyan was forcibly detained on December 11 by Armenia's security forces for “riding” a homemade cardboard tank through the streets of Yerevan. Speaking to local Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, Gevorgyan, who was released late in the evening, said some men stopped him on his way to breakfast Friday morning in downtown Yerevan, said they were from the National Security Service (NSS) and forcibly put him and his friend in their car.
“On the night of December 10 I staged a demonstration in the city with my handmade green cardboard tank, which is something I have done several times in the past. That day I wandered about different city parts – went to Baghramyan 26 (location of Armenia's presidential residence), to the Central Election Commission, to the Opera House; finally I crashed the tank into the gates of the NSS and left.
“They asked me why I had taken the tank to the NSS, what it had to do with them. I explained it was an artwork and was not designed for the NSS – it just so happened that the NSS was my final destination. They asked why I hadn't taken it to the Defense Ministry, I answered it was too far [from downtown Yerevan] and I didn't feel like it, so instead I went to the NSS.”
The security forces, as stated by the artist, presented no legal basis for his detention. “It's not like [the action] was a secret; I was going to publish a video recording, as usual. Then I overheard them saying that the 'Alpha' unit had detained me on charges of hooliganism for doing 'something with a tank.' I explained I'd held a protest action against the current authorities, against the injustices in the country and the disorderly political situation.”
The NSS has confiscated Gevorgyan's passport and released him on his own recognizance; they said nothing about initiating criminal proceedings: “They informed me I had to come in, if necessary. Also they wanted to know whether anyone had pushed me to [stage the protest].”
Video – RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Photos – Hetq.am