Preliminary list reveals 8 detained after opposition raids in Armenia

A preliminary list of individuals detained following extensive searches at opposition figures’ homes in Armenia has emerged.

Alongside Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, seven other people have been taken into custody, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media sources.

The detainees include David Galstyan, a representative of the remnants of separatists; retired Colonel Migran Makhsudyan; Igor Sargsyan, a member of the Supreme Body of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD); businessman Tigran Galstyan; and activist Ara Rostomyan. Additionally, deacons Grair and Movses are among those detained.

Local reports also indicate that Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) conducted a raid at the residence of Ashot Danielyan, known as the “speaker of the Karabakh parliament.”

In a related development, Elizabeth Petrosyan, director of ParaTV, was reportedly taken to the investigative department in Erebu­ni after NSS officers conducted searches at her home.

To recall, in the early hours of June 25, Armenian law enforcement launched a coordinated series of searches across the country, targeting residences linked to members and supporters of the revanchist “Tavush for the Homeland” movement—also known as the “Sacred Struggle.”

The operations extended to the apartment of the movement’s leader, revanchist Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a figure known for his vocal opposition to the Armenian government’s border delimitation policies with Azerbaijan.

Later on the same day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared a Facebook post, announcing that criminal-oligarchic-clerical circles attempted to plot a coup. However, their plan didn’t work out as law enforcement forces thwarted the attempt.

The prime minister’s statement comes amid ongoing political tensions in Armenia, where opposition groups and some elements within the influential church have criticised his government’s policies, particularly regarding relations with Russia and normalisation efforts with neighbouring Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

By Khagan Isayev