Armenian police targeting "emo kids"

Armenian police forces have begun a concentrated effort to single out alleged "emo kids," according to this report. The efforts came about after the recent suicides of two teenagers rumored to be fans of emo music and according to the report, officers have visited schools, searched the belongings of kids wearing distinctive clothing that might be classified as "emo," set up surveillance where young people gather and even have detained some teenagers for questioning despite a lack of evidence or legislation for doing so.

In a recent newspaper interview, Armenian Chief of Police Alik Sarkisian made the claim that emo could "damage our gene pool." Sarkasian went on to say, "We should fight against such phenomena because they are morally harmful to our people."

Armenia is a former republic of the Soviet Union, establishing an independent democracy in 1991.