Arminfo.info


 Tuesday, March 31 2026 12:43
Naira Badalian

School students charged as part of church incident involving Armenian  premier 

School students charged as part of church incident involving Armenian  premier 

ArmInfo. The schoolchildren involved in the incident with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at St. Anna Church in Yerevan are currently facing charges. "Ignoring all factual information, a decision was made to prosecute all three  participants in the case," lawyer Lusine Martirosyan told reporters  on March 31.

The incident occurred on March 29, Palm Sunday. A video circulated on  social media shows Pashinyan, accompanied by security guards, heading  for the exit during the liturgy. One of the attendees said, "Don't  you dare look at me like that!" and made a sharp motion with his hand  toward the prime minister, but his hand was pulled back by his  bodyguards. A commotion ensued in the church. Later, 18-year-old twin  brothers David and Mikael Minasyan, as well as public and political  figure Gevork Gevorkyan, were detained. The Investigative Committee  opened a criminal case against David Minasyan under Part 1 of Article  297 (hooliganism) and Part 3 of Article 452 (interference with the  lawful official or political activities of an official) of the  Criminal Code, and against Mikael Minasyan under Part 1 of Article  46-297 (assistance to hooliganism) and Part 3 of Article 46-452  (assistance to interference with the lawful official or political  activities of an official). A case was opened against Gevork  Gevorkyan under Part 1 of Article 46-297 (organization of  hooliganism) and Part 3 of Article 46-452 (organization of  interference with the lawful official or political activities of an  official). According to the lawyer, nothing was discovered during the  search of the Minasyan brothers' home on March 30. Meanwhile,  according to the investigative body's decision, they were looking for  evidence of violence and hooliganism aimed at interfering with the  prime minister's political activities, organized by Gevorg Gevorgyan,  confirming their consent to this action. They were also looking for  some kind of project, a plan for its planning and implementation.  "Naturally, all they found were diplomas, books, and certificates,"  Martirosyan noted. Moreover, the lawyer emphasized that David  Minasyan has health problems incompatible with imprisonment.

Regarding the fact that several witnesses to the incident said that  one of the guards reacted quite harshly to David Minasyan's words and  punched him so hard that he lost his balance, the lawyer noted that a  video distributed by the media confirms this, as well as the presence  of provocateurs.

"We all know who the provocateur was:" "There is relevant footage of  him punching David Minasyan in the face and him falling. At this  stage, naturally, this fact is being ignored," the lawyer said,  recalling that an appeal had previously been made to the Office of  the Ombudsman of Armenia, but so far there has been no response.  

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