Gegham Manukyan: It's Shameful to Impose Criminal Proceedings on Water

The National Security Service (NSS) attempted to search the home of Gegham Manukyan, a member of the Armenian Parliament from the 'Hayastan' faction, and forcefully seized his phone after receiving a phone call. The lawmaker disclosed this information during a conversation with reporters.

“Around ten people entered my home at 7:50 AM, presenting themselves as NSS and Investigative Committee employees. They opened a new criminal case the day before. I told them directly, 'Boys, it’s shameful, it’s absurd. I’m an old man, I’ve seen the NSS, I’ve seen Gorig Gurgenich. What is the point of levying charges on water?’” he stated.

According to Manukyan, the law enforcement officers attempted to categorize the military games organized by youth as preparations for terrorism. “Our youth organization organizes trainings and various military games. There are shops in Yerevan that sell small balls known as ‘skyball.’ Instead of plastic balls, they were using peas to reduce costs. Now, they have deemed this a preparation for terrorism. As part of this case, not only my son, Taron Manukyan, has been arrested, but also members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Arsen Martoyan and Gevorg Muradyan,” he added.

The parliament member noted that during the search, they even took personal videos of the family, including recordings of children’s celebrations. “They took a video of the children’s wedding. At the last moment, they began to check the latest pictures and calls. At that moment, they received a call from above. They took me to the balcony and said, ‘Let’s go talk.’ At that moment, they attempted to seize my phone from my hand. My hand got injured. But it’s fine, they also got hurt,” he said.

He pointed out that during the search, the law enforcement personnel meticulously read his prison letters, including those with Vahan Hovhannisyan. “They do not allow lawyers to participate in the investigation, not even parliament members,” the lawmaker noted.