Armenian authorities have detained seven more opposition figures following raids at their homes on Thursday.
MP Gegham Manukyan, a member of the opposition Armenia party, was among those who had his home searched by officers from Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS). During the course of the search, Manukyan’s phone was confiscated and his son Taron Manukyan was arrested. It was not immediately clear what the raid on Manukyan’s home was connected to.
Seven members of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) were detained following the raids, which the ARF said was a ‘campaign’ against the party.
Separately, Armenia’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday that it had seized explosives and communication devices among ‘other items and objects of interest to [the] investigation’.
In addition, Vaghinak Ghazaryan, the director of detained Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Tashir Pizza chain, was arrested on tax evasion charges.
Karapetyan has been under arrest since late June, accused of calls to usurp power. The charges were brought against him following remarks he had made in support of the Armenian Apostolic Church amidst ongoing tensions between the government and the Church.
In recent weeks, Armenian authorities have increasingly cracked down on the country’s political opposition following what it said was a plan to conduct a violent coup.
In late June, the authorities raided the homes of dozens of opposition figures, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, following which he and 14 others were arrested for allegedly plotting ‘terrorist attacks and a coup d’état’.
The authorities claimed Galstanyan had been recruiting followers to form ‘strike teams’ intended to carry out terrorist acts aimed at overthrowing the government and seizing power.
Yousef Bardouka
