Citizens demand that Artur Sargsyan be buried in Yerablur Pantheon (video)
A group of citizens started a march from Liberty Square to the building of the Armenian government to pose their demands to the executive body. They demand that Artur Sargsyan,nicknamed ‘the bringer of bread,’ be buried in Yerablur military pantheon. Secondly, they demand punishment for those responsible for Artur Sargsyan’s death. The group gave the government ten minutes to answer them. Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police Valeri Osipyan told the protesters that the answer will be given on Saturday. Shahen Petrosyan said they would return on Saturday to get a reply. Artur Sargsyan, nicknamed the “bringer of bread” for taking food to members of the Sasna Dzrer group who seized a Yerevan police building last July and remained barricaded there for nearly two weeks, died on March 16 while being treated at the Armenia Medical Center. He died ten days after being released from prison following a 25-day hunger strike. Sargsyan, 49, underwent urgent bowel surgery at the hospital the previous night. Artur Sargsyan was first arrested last August for aiding the gunmen and released in December because of his deteriorating health condition. He was again arrested in February 2017 allegedly for not showing up in the hearing of last year’s standoff. Sargsyan began a hunger strike in protest against his detention. He was released from pre-trial detention earlier in March after six MPs from several political parties paid a bail for him in the amount of 3million drams. Armenia’s Investigative Committee (IC) today launched a criminal investigation into the death of Artur Sargsyan.
