YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margaryan on April 23 met with arrested opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan, the ARF office told Armenpress.

“This meeting inspires hope that future dialogue can be held. Over the past few days the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) has conducted large-scale works with numerous sides and persons aimed at forming a platform for dialogue in order to find a solution to this situation. The ARF opposes the arrests, but at the same time it is against the ultimatums. It’s necessary to create an opportunity for that dialogue to take place, to find the solution and prevent the country from shocks.

Hrant Margaryan also held a phone conversation with Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan”, the statement says.

On April 22 police dispersed a rally in Yerevan’s Erebuni district, and three initiators of the rally, the opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan, and two other lawmakers - Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Michaelyan were detained.

“All actions of the initiators of the rally are illegal after the decision of the police to cease the demonstrations, and all participants of the rally are obliged to leave the location of the rally”, police said.

After a couple of hours the Prosecutor General’s Office said that the three lawmakers have been placed under arrest under Article 96, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution within the framework of an ongoing criminal case with the purpose of preventing crime and in direct suspicion of deliberately organizing and holding illegal rallies.

MP Nikol Pashinyan, MP Ararat Mirzoyan and MP Sasun Michaelyan have numerously called on their followers to block city streets, block entrances of governmental buildings, breach into governmental buildings and paralyze the functioning of these buildings. Their followers implemented the unlawful calls.

English translator/editor – Aneta Harutyunyan