Armenia’s Investigative Committee has announced that a former Artashat community head and former Member of Parliament, identified by the initials A.A., has been arrested as part of the investigation into the 2023 fatal shooting of S.V. in Yerevan.
According to the Investigative Committee, evidence obtained during the preliminary investigation, along with operational measures carried out by the National Security Service (NSS), indicates that the killing, which took place on April 30, 2023, near a residential building on Myasnikyan Avenue, was allegedly ordered by the former official.
Investigators allege that the suspect believed his wife had a personal relationship with S.V., a pastor affiliated with the «Christians of the Gospel Faith» religious organization, and suspected she had given him substantial sums of money. Authorities say these suspicions allegedly motivated him to seek revenge.
According to the investigation, rather than carrying out the act himself, the suspect allegedly instructed his security guard, identified as G.H., who was reportedly financially and personally dependent on him, to kill S.V. Investigators state that G.H. accepted the assignment and fatally shot the victim with a firearm on April 30, 2023.
Based on the evidence collected, prosecutors have initiated public criminal prosecution against the former official on charges of incitement to commit contract murder under the Criminal Code.
On August 8, 2026, officers of the National Security Service detained the suspect following an investigator’s decision, with the intention of presenting him to court to seek pretrial detention.
The Investigative Committee also noted that G.H. had already been charged with murder and illegal firearms trafficking, and that his case was forwarded to court with an indictment in April 2024.
The preliminary investigation remains ongoing, and authorities say additional investigative and procedural measures are being carried out to establish all the circumstances of the case.
The allegations are based on the findings of the preliminary investigation. Under Armenian law, every suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court judgment.
