Arayik Harutyunyan, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, stated that the opposition “has long realized that in 2026, the people will win again.”
In a Facebook post, he wrote:
“The fear of the opposition, of Ktrich Nersisyan and his circle, of the majority of the fifth column, is this: they’ve long known that the people will win again in 2026. And they’re doing everything they can to stop it. If I put it briefly, that’s the whole story.”
This statement comes in the wake of a major law enforcement operation on October 15, when Armenia’s Investigative Committee and the NSS conducted raids at the Aragatsotn Diocese and clergy homes. Several clerics, including Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and Fr. Garegin Arsenyan, were detained.
Bishop Proshyan has been placed in two-month detention, and Fr. Arsenyan for one month. Others were granted witness status. Authorities allege abuse of office and coercion to attend rallies, citing violations of electoral rights.
