Citizens urge EU not to turn a blind eye to political repression by  Armenian authorities ahead of parliamentary elections in Armenia -  protest

ArmInfo.A group of citizens held a protest outside the European Union office in Yerevan, urging not to turn a blind eye to political repression in the country by the Armenian authorities in the lead-up to the June parliamentary  elections.

During the protest, participants demanded that the EU remain  committed to its values and provide a clear assessment of the  pre-election debates, reminding that the legitimacy of elections is  not determined solely on election day. "Today, the Armenian  authorities have violated both legal and moral norms. However,  European institutions are turning a blind eye to this," the  protesters noted. As part of the protest, they left a pair of large  glasses outside the EU office, stating that through this gesture they  intended to call upon the European body to open its eyes and evaluate  the ongoing repression in Armenia rather than be guided by double  standards. "We hope that after this, they will at least talk about  the recent events that have unfolded in Armenia under the current  government," the protesters noted.

Note: In place of frames, the protesters inserted photographs of two  recent incidents that occurred in Armenia during Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan's election campaign. In  one frame, they placed a  photograph from the day the prime minister lost his temper during the  campaign and began yelling at Arpine Soghoyan, the sister of Hrant  Papikyan, a soldier who went missing in action in the 44-day war of  2020. Soghoyan stated that "it was Pashinyan who destroyed the  country, and he is an enemy of the people." After this, the Armenian  prime minister began shouting at the woman, and when she tried to  leave, he pulled her by the arm, pulled her back into the crowd, and  continued yelling. In the second frame, they placed a photo from the  day Pashinyan's security guards gagged an elderly man (the  grandfather of a soldier who died in a fire at a barracks in the  village of Azat - ed.) during the election campaign in Spitak and  escorted him out. It's worth noting that the man was trying to ask a  question about the fire that occurred at the barracks in Azat, which  claimed the lives of 15 servicemen.