Head of RA Cadaster Committee did not see premier`s security service  officer forcibly removing citizen from church 

ArmInfo.  Suren Tovmasyan, head of the Armenian Cadastre Committee, who attended the liturgy celebrated by defrocked Father Aram (secular name Stepan Asatryan) at the Hovhannavank Church on Sunday with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, did not see a member of Pashinyan's security service cover  a citizen's mouth and forcibly remove him from the premises.

"I apologize, but I didn't see that. I didn't see it, and let's put  an end to it," he said in a conversation with journalists in  parliament on October 28.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Defense Minister Suren  Papikyan, other officials, and members of the ruling Civil Contract  party attended the divine liturgy celebrated by Stepan Asatryan, who  was defrocked. Since early morning, a police presence had been  observed in the village of Hovhannavan, and numerous security  personnel guarded the monastery grounds. The security forces  restricted journalists from entering the church because N. Pashinyan  was present at the liturgy.

During the liturgy, a man who shouted that Asatryan had no right to  conduct the service was escorted out of the monastery, his mouth  covered. Footage of the violence has spread online.

Nevertheless, on October 27, in a conversation with journalists,  Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan stated: "I haven't seen the footage,  but if we're talking about violence, then, of course, it's  reprehensible and a criminal offense." According to Galyan, if such  actions did indeed take place, law enforcement agencies should give  them an appropriate assessment. She also emphasized that any employee  must act within the scope of their authority, but at the moment she  cannot assess whether a particular person or official with authority  acted lawfully; only law enforcement agencies can answer this  question.