Gyumri Mayor Alleges "Political Retribution" by Police

We officially declare that the armored car of the Mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, was pursued today by 4 patrol cars as the mayor was traveling from his home to his workplace, the Gyumri Municipality. The distance from his home to the municipality is 300 meters, and there is only one road to get there; there is no other way. The mayor takes this road to work every day. It is impossible to commit a traffic violation there. The Gyumri Municipality has released a statement about this.

"Therefore, the statement spread by the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs that the car was driven in violation of traffic rules is an absolute lie. According to the statement made by a senior inspector of the Shirak marz battalion of the Police Patrol Service in front of the municipality building, the car was supposed to be moved to a specially protected area due to deficiencies in the car's technical documents. Consequently, the statement by the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs testifies to a specific order issued against the Mayor of Gyumri, a planned scenario of actions, and a political reprisal through law enforcement agencies.

It should be noted that the Mayor of Gyumri's car was, however, not moved to the specially protected area, on the grounds of a 10-day document review," the municipality's statement said in particular, emphasizing that the political repressions against the Mayor of Gyumri began back in the pre-election period when he announced that he would be running as a candidate for mayor.