Arinj Mall workers protest after authorities seal shops

Employees and vendors at Arinj Mall, a shopping center owned by businesses and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan, on Thursday staged a protest after authorities sealed several retail units, demanding to be allowed back to work and calling on investigators to explain the legal grounds for the move.

According to Sputnik Armenia, protesters said investigators sealed the shops on a non-working day without prior notice or any official explanation.

"The shops were sealed on a non-working day. People have come out to protest because they're simply trying to earn a living," one protester said. "Neither we nor the mall's management has received an explanation. The administration appealed to the Investigative Committee but has not received a response. We also went to the Investigative Committee ourselves, but no one gave us an answer."

Protesters said only the front row of retail units has been sealed so far but fear the measure could be expanded to the rest of the shopping center.

"Today it's this section. Tomorrow it could be the next row," the protester said. "The shops were sealed without any clear justification."

The protest comes as Tsarukyan, the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, remains in pretrial detention on money laundering and fraud charges widely regarded as politically motivated.