Thousands of people led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian gathered on June 12 on a street outside the Armenian parliament building to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation following his territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Scuffles broke out there moments before security forces hurled dozens of stun grenades into the crowd. At least 83 protesters and 8 journalists were injured as a result.
“Armenian law did not, at that time, specifically provide a basis for use of the type of sonic grenades deployed on June 12,” HRW said in its annual report on human rights practices around the world issued over the weekend. “In July, the authorities added them to the arsenal of Interior Ministry police units but classified critical information about conditions for their use.”
The security forces are believed to have used Zarya-3 grenades which are designed, according to their Russian manufacturer, to “temporarily suppress mental stability of armed criminals with acoustic and light effects.” Health Minister Anahit Avanesian added them to the ministry’s list of authorized crowd control equipment only on June 26, two weeks after the crackdown.
Armenian opposition figures and civil society members seized upon this fact to argue that the use of Zarya-3 was illegal. The police and another law-enforcement agency, the Investigative Committee, still refuse to specify the type of explosive devices used on June 12.
The committee has defended the crackdown, saying that it stopped “mass disturbances.” It has prosecuted only one man for participating in the “mass disturbances,” however. Fourteen other protesters were charged later in 2024 with “hooliganism” that mainly took the form of plastic bottles and other objects thrown at the riot police.
“While the authorities investigated police conduct, they had pressed no charges [against police officers] at time of writing,” noted HRW.
The Washington-based watchdog said the June 12 violence and ensuing developments highlighted a continuing “lack of effective accountability for law enforcement abuses” in Armenia.
Dozens of other protesters were also seriously injured by the police after Archbishop Galstanian launched his campaign for regime change in May. No policemen were charged over those incidents, including the May 27 beating by members of a special police squad of an opposition parliamentarian, Ashot Simonian.
“Other areas of concern include intrusive surveillance, domestic violence, discrimination against people with disabilities, and violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said the HRW report.