A Yerevan man threatened to set himself on fire outside the Government Building in Yerevan if a garden plot he has tended for years in the Armenian capital is bulldozed by a company linked to former Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

Samvel Mkrtchyan told Hetq that the land he had originally been leasing from the municipality was purchased by Artsashat City LLC at auction in 2010.

Bulldozers arrived at the garden on Shirak Street today and were met by an irate Mkrtchyan. Police were called to the scene to restore order.

Several trees were razed to the ground in the interim.

The company is owned by Gagik Poghosyan, a relative of Hovik Abrahamyan.