Epress.am News from Armenia
A total of 136 civilians were detained in different police station of Yerevan following the early Thursday police crackdown on protesters outside the seized Erebuni police station, according to the official statement released by the law enforcement agency.
One of the detainees, who wished to remain anonymous, said in a conversation with Epress.am that he had been detained by plain clothes police officers who punched and kicked him on the way to the station. He added that at the station other civilians also told him that they too had been subjected to beatings by police. The citizens were told that they had been detained “for property damage” and were all subjected to a breath alcohol test; they were released about 3 hours later.
The source also claimed that he had overheard a police officer ordering his subordinated to “bring three girls” to the station, and about 20 minutes later 3 sex workers were brought to the building. “Police demanded that the girls say they had been brought from the protest site and moments later we could hear one of the girls and a police officer cussing at each other,” the citizen said, adding that the sex workers were also forced to undergo a breathalyzer test.