Pashinyan condemns murder of community leader in Armenia

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has strongly condemned an armed attack in the village of Merdzavan that left two people dead, including a community leader, and another person seriously wounded.

According to Caliber.Az, citing Armenian media, the attack occurred late on September 23 when gunfire erupted on the Yerevan highway in Merdzavan, located in the Armavir region. At 23:52, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia received a report of the incident.

The victims of the shooting were identified as Valodia Grigoryan, head of the local community, and Karen Abrahamyan, an officer of the Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A third individual sustained life-threatening injuries.

In an official statement, Pashinyan said: “I strongly condemn the brazen armed attack in the village of Merdzavan in the enlarged community of Parakar, which resulted in the killing of community leader V. Grigoryan and his friend. Another person was wounded and is in extremely serious condition. I express my condolences to the relatives of the deceased and the dear people of Parakar. I wish the wounded a speedy recovery.”

The Prime Minister stressed that law enforcement agencies must act decisively to ensure accountability. “The law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Armenia are obliged to identify all persons involved in the crime as soon as possible,” he declared.

Pashinyan also called for a review of preventive measures. “It is also necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of what preventive measures should have been taken in Parakar to prevent a series of violent incidents, who should have taken them and why they were not taken. The necessary conclusions will be drawn based on the results of this analysis,” he added.

By Tamilla Hasanova