Karekin II’s Brother and Nephew Arrested
Attorney Ara Zohrabyan reported that on November 2, the investigative body decided to arrest 68-year-old Gevorg Nersisyan and his son, Hambardzum Nersisyan, for the purpose of detention.
The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia (RA IC) reports that public criminal prosecution has been initiated against the two individuals within the framework of the criminal proceedings, under Article 211 of the Criminal Code, for coercing people to campaign or to refuse to campaign, or for obstructing campaigning. They have been arrested.
Earlier, Harutyun Mkrtchyan, a candidate for the “Hanrapetutyun” (“Republic”) Party in the enlarged community of Vagharshapat, wrote on his Facebook page that on November 1, around 4:10 PM, Gevorg Nersisyan and his sons obstructed the campaigning of his political team in the village of Voskehat.
According to Mkrtchyan, the Nersisyans attempted to disrupt his team’s lawful campaign, provoked an argument, and used offensive language.
Attorney Ara Zohrabyan, in turn, published a video and stated that the incident is being presented in a distorted manner. According to him, Hambardzum Nersisyan simply refused to participate in the party meeting, and the conversation proceeded without clashes.
The incident occurred as follows: On November 1, around 2:40 PM, Hambardzum was standing in front of his house gate when a man approached him and offered him to participate in the Republic Party’s meeting scheduled for 4:00 PM. Hambardzum refused, the mentioned man tried to persuade him, they talked, and then Hambardzum’s father, Gevorg Nersisyan, approached; the three of them talked and parted peacefully.
It should be recalled that the tension between the authorities and the church has deepened recently. Currently, those detained include Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the “Surbazan Paykar” (Holy Struggle) movement, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, the primate of the Shirak Diocese, Mkrtich Surpazan (Bishop Mkrtich), the primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, and Archdeacon Karekin Arsenyan. Notably, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the primate of the Aragatsotn Diocese, is the son of the sister of Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.