18-year-old school student David Minasyan arrested facing two to five years in prison

18-year-old school student David Minasyan has been remanded in custody for two months. Before he could even be brought to the Armavir correctional facility, he lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital.

The brothers David and Mikael Minasyan were involved in an incident at the Church of St. Anna, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was in attendance. During the liturgy, they reacted to the noise caused by the prime minister and his entourage. Both were detained; however, Mikael Minasyan was placed under a travel restriction and ordered to pay bail of five million drams.

New footage of the incident at the church involving Pashinyan is circulating on social media. The video shows one of the prime minister’s escorts forcing his way through the crowd, approaching the 18-year-old, and striking him hard.

Public outrage is growing: the brothers, who had never displayed aggressive behavior and attended the liturgy every Sunday, could not have imagined that Palm Sunday would end with them behind bars.