Armenian court arrests 18-year-old after incidcnt involving premier

ArmInfo. An Armenian court has ordered the pretrial detention of 18- year-old David Minasyan for two months following the incident at St. Anna Church involving Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This was stated by lawyer Armen Melkonyan in a conversation with journalists.

According to the lawyer, there were no grounds for such a decision,  but the court refused to apply other preventive measures. "David is  being tried under an article that carries a prison sentence of two to  five years. Essentially, they believe a young man finishing 12th  grade should be detained, while people facing more serious charges  can simply be placed under administrative supervision. The court took  no account of any of these factors. The student was essentially  deprived of the opportunity to graduate from school," Melkonyan  added, noting that they will appeal the decision. It's worth noting  that after the verdict was announced, Minasyan's mother, Gayane  Minasyan, became ill but refused medical attention.

The incident occurred on March 29, Palm Sunday. A video circulated on  social media shows how, during the liturgy, as Pashinyan, accompanied  by security guards, was heading for the exit. One of the attendees  said, "Don't you dare look at me like that!" and made a sharp motion  toward the prime minister, but his hand was pulled back by his  bodyguards.

Later, 18-year-old twin brothers David and Mikael Minasyan, as well  as public and political figure Gevork Gevorkyan, were detained. Based  on the incident, the Investigative Committee of Armenia 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 has been opened against Gevork Gevorkyan under  Part 1 of Article 46-297 (organizing hooliganism) and Part 3 of  Article 46-452 (organizing interference with the lawful official or  political activities of an official). On March 31, Gevorkyan was  released on bail of 5 million drams and a travel restriction. He  pleads not guilty.  Mikael Minasyan was released on a travel  restriction. Meanwhile, footage has also circulated online showing a  member of the security service delivering a powerful punch to David  Minasyan's face, causing the young man to fall and, after rising,  struggle for a long time. It is noteworthy that the Investigative  Committee opened a case under the Criminal Code article "interference  in the lawful official or political activity of an official," despite  Prime Minister Pashinyan himself repeatedly stating that he attends  Sunday liturgies solely as an ordinary parishioner of the Armenian  Apostolic Church.