2016 Yerevan Hostage Crisis

On 17 July 2016, a group of armed men calling themselves the Daredevils of Sasun (Sasna Tsrer) drove a vehicle through the front door of the Erebuni police station in Yerevan, Armenia, around 5:30 a.m. and took nine people hostage. During the initial attack, police officer Artur Vanoyan was killed and at least two others were injured, including Gagik Mkrtchyan, who later died of his wounds in hospital on 13 August. The attackers demanded the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan, the release of jailed opposition leader Jirair Sefilian, and snap parliamentary and presidential elections.

The background to the crisis included a controversial 2013 election that eroded support for the ruling Republican Party, and the repeated arrests of Sefilian, who led the New Armenia Public Salvation Front. He was detained again on 20 June 2016 on weapons-related charges after Armenian investigators alleged a coup plot, which was later dropped.

The standoff continued for two weeks. Hostages were released in stages on 18, 21, and 23 July, with General Vitaly Balasanyan mediating and future National Security Service director Artur Vanetsyan also involved in negotiations. Two senior police officials, Major General Vardan Yeghiazaryan and Colonel Valery Osipyan, had been taken hostage after arriving to negotiate and were among the last released, on 23 July. President Sargsyan publicly called for the hostages' release and the group's surrender on 22 July. Vehicles inside the compound were set on fire on multiple occasions in late July, and gunmen Pavlik Manukyan and his son Aram were severely wounded by gunfire on 26 July and arrested after hospital treatment.

Large protests accompanied the crisis, including a rally of over 1,500 people on 18 July and a march of thousands on 25 July. On 28 July, riot police and plainclothes officers used stun grenades, flash grenades, and metal rods against protesters and journalists, injuring 60 people, drawing international condemnation. On 30 July, police issued an ultimatum, and officer Yuri Tepanosyan was killed by sniper fire from the police station, which the attackers denied responsibility for. The group surrendered on 31 July, stating they had "become the spark that allowed people to rise up."

An Armenian protester, Kajik Grigoryan, died on 2 August after attempting self-immolation during the protests on 30 July. Arthur Sargsyan, who had brought food to the besieged group, died in prison on 16 March 2017.

Most attackers faced charges of hostage-taking and illegal weapons possession; most were released following the 2018 Armenian revolution. A trial of ten key participants concluded on 24 February 2021: Smbat Barseghyan was convicted of murdering officers Tepanosyan and Vanoyan and sentenced to 25 years; Armen Bilyan was cleared of murdering Mkrtchyan but convicted of other crimes and sentenced to nearly five years; several others received sentences of six to eight years. Defendant Arayik Khandoyan died of a heart attack before the trial concluded. <parameter name="timeline">[{"date": "2016-06-20", "event": "Opposition leader Jirair Sefilian is arrested on weapons-related charges."}, {"date": "2016-07-17", "event": "Armed group Sasna Tsrer storms the Erebuni police station in Yerevan, killing officer Artur Vanoyan and taking nine hostages."}, {"date": "2016-07-18", "event": "Three hostages released following negotiations; over 1,500 protesters rally in Yerevan."}, {"date": "2016-07-21", "event": "Two more hostages released, leaving four, including two senior police officials."}, {"date": "2016-07-22", "event": "President Serzh Sargsyan publicly calls on the group to release hostages and surrender."}, {"date": "2016-07-23", "event": "Remaining four hostages released; gunmen hold a news conference with journalists."}, {"date": "2016-07-25", "event": "Thousands march in Yerevan in support of the protest movement; a third vehicle is burned inside the police compound."}, {"date": "2016-07-26", "event": "Gunmen Pavlik Manukyan and his son Aram are severely wounded by gunfire and arrested after hospital treatment."}, {"date": "2016-07-28", "event": "Riot police and plainclothes officers attack protesters and journalists with stun grenades and metal rods, injuring 60."}, {"date": "2016-07-30", "event": "Police issue an ultimatum; officer Yuri Tepanosyan is killed by sniper fire from the police station; protester Kajik Grigoryan attempts self-immolation."}, {"date": "2016-07-31", "event": "The armed group surrenders, ending the standoff."}, {"date": "2016-08-02", "event": "Protester Kajik Grigoryan dies in hospital from self-immolation injuries."}, {"date": "2016-08-13", "event": "Police officer Gagik Mkrtchyan dies of wounds sustained during the initial attack."}, {"date": "2017-03-16", "event": "Arthur Sargsyan, who had supplied food to the besieged group, dies in prison."}, {"date": "2021-02-24", "event": "Trial of ten key participants concludes; Smbat Barseghyan sentenced to 25 years for the murders of Tepanosyan and Vanoyan."}]