Yerevan mayor shouldn't have resigned, says human rights activist

Former Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan shouldn't have resigned; he should have rather been sentenced, a human rights activist has said.

In a press conference today, Edmon Marukyan said that a criminal case should have been launched over the incident that led to Gagik Beglaryan's resignation.

"When a policeman assaults someone, an internal probe is launched, but when a private citizen assaults a policeman, a criminal case is filed. The same happened here," said Marukyan.

Beglaryan was pressured to resign after he reportedly assaulted an employee of the Department of Protocol of Armenia's presidential administration.

According to Marukyan, former Yerevan mayor should have been deprived of his mayoral mandate only through trial as he committed a crime.

"This is a crime. What has that to do with resignation? Everybody is speaking about the fact that he was punished. That is not a punishment. Being held responsible by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia would be a punishment," said he.