MP accuses Armenian authorities of crackdown on opposition

The mayor of Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, and seven other municipal officials were arrested in a corruption probe after law enforcement agencies raided the Gyumri City Hall on Monday.

In a live video on Facebook, Mher Melkonyan, an MP from the opposition Hayastan faction, said that officers from the National Security Service (NSS), the Investigative Committee and the police had “stormed and seized” the Gyumri City Hall, holding several municipal employees inside for over an hour.

“Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan and several staff members have been isolated,” Melkonyan said. “I tried to meet them, but the head of the investigative team and masked NSS officers refused to let me see the mayor.”

The MP accused the authorities of crackdown on opposition figures.

“We're witnessing blatant lawlessness. The anti-national regime is doing everything it can to neutralize politicians and community leaders who resist it and fight to prevent Armenia from being led toward Turkification,” he stated.