Civilnet
Shahen Harutyunyan running onto the field at the Armenia-Portugal Euro 2016 Qualifier.
Football fans in Armenia and around the world were startled after a young man broke security lines and invaded the pitch during a 2016 qualifier between Portugal and Armenia on June 13 in Yerevan.
Shahen Harutyunyan, the son of imprisoned political leader Shant Harutyunyan ran onto the field holding a sign which read “Freedom for Shant Harutyunyan and other political prisoners in Armenia.”
During the commotion, the Armenian commentator of the game said that a young fan rushed Cristiano Ronaldo, but in fact, the young Harutyunyan wasn’t interested in the world famous soccer player. He was there to make a statement.
About a dozen security personnel chased him the length of the field, unable to catch him until he was finally pinned down and taken away.
Shant Harutyunyan, the leader of the Tseghakron Party was arrested on November 5, 2013 along with a handful of supporters after clashes with security forces in downtown Yerevan. The men, brandishing sticks and wearing Guy Fawkes masks, were attempting to walk toward the presidential palace to initiate what they called a “revolution of values.” When they were confronted by police who attempted to halt their advance, they threw rocks and molotov cocktails toward the police. More than a dozen people were arrested and taken away. For days leading up to the clash, Harutyunyan had been staging a sit-in in Yerevan’s Liberty Square with a sign that read, “I am starting a revolution.”
Harutyunyan ran the entire length of the pitch before being pinned down by security personnel.
Almost a year after his arrest and following a lengthy trial, Shant Harutyunyan and his friends were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 1 to 7 years. His then 14-year old son, Shahen Harutyunyan who was with his father the day of the clashes got a suspended four-year jail term.
This incident was not Shant Harutyunyan’s first brush with the law. During the Soviet-era, Harutyunyan was arrested for campaigning against the USSR but later released. He was arrested again after the brutal March 1, 2008 post-election riots and sent to a psychiatric hospital and later released.
After being apprehended for invading the pitch at the Armenia-Portugal football match, Shahen Harutyunyan was taken to the police station and released about an hour later. He told reporters that his intention was to shed a global light on the fate of his father and other political prisoners.
The young Harutyunyan had posted a status on his Facebook page saying that his father had begun a hunger strike on June 8 asking to be transferred to a unitary cell.
The Armenia-Portugal Euro 2016 qualifier ended with a 2:3 score.
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