Masked Individuals Kidnap Kokobelyan's Father, Arrests Made: Investigative Committee Provides Details

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has provided details regarding the kidnapping of an 83-year-old resident of the village of Achajur in the Tavush region. Following extensive investigative measures conducted by the main investigation department for particularly important cases, as well as actions taken in coordination with relevant units of the Armenian police, the circumstances of the kidnapping have been clarified.

According to the investigation, on July 27, 2022, around 07:00, a group of individuals, masked and acting against the will of the victim, forcibly placed him in a vehicle in front of one of the houses in the aforementioned village. They covered his eyes and took him out of the village. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to a vehicle marked 'TOYOTA LAND CRUISER PRADO 2.7'. Around 11:00, he was then transported to the village of Tsater in the Lori region and held in a guesthouse rented from a resident of that village. One of the accomplices monitored him in the guesthouse until August 2, 2022.

It was revealed that on August 2, 2022, around 14:00, the victim, together with another accomplice, arrived at the mentioned place in Tsater village in a 'HYUNDAI SONATA 2.4'. From there, while still blindfolded, he was taken in the vehicle and headed towards the city of Ijevan. On that same day, around 17:30, he was removed from the vehicle and placed on a rock in a forested area along the road before the kidnappers left for the city of Ijevan. They subsequently contacted the victim's relatives to inform them of his whereabouts. He was found by relatives around 18:00 on the same day.

On August 11, 2022, it was reported that two individuals suspected of committing the crime were arrested based on substantial grounds for suspicion that they committed a serious crime as stipulated under the second part of Article 191 of the Armenian Criminal Code. The preliminary investigation is ongoing.