Armenia detains critics of Karabakh peace deal

YEREVAN AFP, 12 Nov, 2020-  Armenia on Thursday arrested 10 leading opposition figures for violently protesting against a Russian-brokered peace deal that ended weeks of fighting with Azerbaijan and sparked fury with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.   Prosecutors announced the arrests hours ahead of a fresh demonstration called by the opposition against the accord that sees Armenia give up swathes of disputed territory in Nagorno-Karabkh to their long-standing foe.   

The 10 politicians face up to a decade behind bars for their role in “illegal violent mass disorder”, prosecutors said in a statement, after protesters stormed and ransacked government buildings on Tuesday over Pashinyan’s agreement to end the fighting.   

 “We consider this to be an act of political persecution,” said Lilit Galstyan from the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, which saw at least two of its members detained.