Interior Minister on Parakar Murder

The murder of the mayor of Parakar, Valodya Grigoryan, does not have political motives. This was reiterated today by Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan during a joint meeting of permanent committees of the National Assembly, discussing the preliminary draft of the 2026 state budget, while responding to the question of Anna Grigoryan, a member of the 'Armenia' faction.

The parliamentarian inquired how it was possible that an individual, who had confessed to the murder of Valodya Grigoryan, had been able to practice shooting in the community for months, carry out various actions in preparation for the murder, yet the police were unable to prevent it.

The minister noted that following the events in Parakar in February, the police had set up checkpoints near the homes of individuals deemed at risk. She stated, 'You would agree that we cannot station one police officer in front of every house and maintain that officer there for years. Naturally, operational work is in progress, and there have been other processes, but we have not received any signals that such an event was being organized, either at the local community police department or in the local criminal police unit.'

Sargsyan emphasized that interpersonal relations in the Armavir region continue to be problematic, and police work should be more intensive in this regard.

It is worth recalling that on the evening of September 23, in Mravavan, near the newly-built private house of the mayor of Parakar, Valodya Grigoryan, a masked individual approached three people standing outside, opened fire, and fled the scene. As a result of the incident, both Valodya Grigoryan and Karen Abrahamyan, an operative of the Criminal Investigation Department of the RA Police, who was off duty at the time, were killed. Another citizen, Artzruni Galstyan, was injured at the scene.

On September 26, Narik Ohanyan was arrested on suspicion of committing the crime. He is the former mayor of Mravavan and the nephew of Mehr Akhtoyan, and the brother of Grigor Ohanyan, who was murdered in Mravavan earlier this year. On September 28, Gevorg Harutyunyan was arrested, who confessed to committing the murder, and the weapon used in the crime was also found.