The 18-year-old man, Davit Minasian, remained, meanwhile, in hospital in what his lawyers described as serious condition.

Minasian was arrested and charged with hooliganism and obstruction of Pashinian’s “political activities” after an incident that marred a Plam Sunday Mass in St. Anne’s Church. The church was packed with worshippers when Pashinian unexpectedly arrived there with his bodyguards who cleared the way for his passage. A visibly annoyed Minasian told them not to push him and said he wants to keep “standing in the middle” of the church.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he then told Pashinian before stretching a hand towards his shoulder.

Minasian was punched and knocked down by one of the bodyguards as Pashinian left the church amid angry cries from other believers. His twin brother Mikael and another man were also detained and indicted afterwards. But they both were freed pending investigation.

Davit Minasian was rushed to Yerevan’s Nairi Medical Center on April 3 hospital after reportedly passing out at a juvenile institution just north of the Armenian capital. Only his lawyers have been allowed to visit him there. According to them, he was injured in the head and suffered concussion in the church.

“I visited him this morning,” one of the lawyers, Lusine Martirosian, told reporters. “He complained of headaches. I tried my best not to disturb him. He said he wants to sleep all the time.”

Martirosian spoke as a group of Minasian’s sympathizers gathered outside the Office of the Prosecutor-General to demand an urgent meeting with Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian and hand her a letter signed by 150 people demanding the student’s release. Vardapetian refused to receive them.

A similar petition circulated online earlier has been signed by thousands of other Armenians. Anahit Manasian, the human rights ombudsman installed by the country’s current leadership, insisted as recently as on Wednesday that she has no legal authority to also call for the student’s release from custody.

In an apparent change of heart, Manasian said on Thursday: “Taking into account the documents available regarding the suspect’s health condition, issues related to his right to education etc., I myself have also suggested that an alternative measure of deterrence [for the student] be considered.”

Pashinian and his political allies have defended Minasian’s arrest, saying that the student assaulted the prime minister. Armenian opposition figures counter, however, that the church incident was the result of what they see as Pashinian’s provocative behavior. They claim that Pashinian ordered the arrest in a bid to intimidate disgruntled Armenians ahead of the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Pashinian has spent the past several weekends touring various parts of the country and talking to people on what looked like election campaign trips. Some of those citizens caused him to lose his temper by openly denouncing his policies or complaining about his government’s track record.

—