Former Armenian lawmaker arrested over alleged role in 2023 murder

Former Artashat mayor and former Armenian lawmaker Argam Abrahamyan has been arrested over allegations that he ordered the 2023 murder of a Christian pastor in Yerevan, Armenia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday.

The authorities also released a video showing multiple security operatives raiding Argam Abrahamyan’s home and detaining him.

Argam Abrahamyan is the son of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who was in office from 2014 to 2016. 

He is the son-in-law of business tycoon and Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan.

The victim, identified as S.V., was a pastor and member of the “Christians of Evangelical Faith” religious organization. He was shot and killed on April 30, 2023, outside a residential building at 2 Myasnikyan Avenue in Yerevan.

According to investigators, Abrahamyan allegedly wanted S.V. killed because he suspected that the pastor was having a personal relationship with his wife. Investigators also allege that Abrahamyan believed his wife was giving the pastor large sums of money.

The man investigators identify as the shooter, G.H., was Abrahamyan’s bodyguard, according to the authorities.

Investigators allege that Abrahamyan used his influence over G.H., who was financially and personally dependent on him and loyal to Abrahamyan, to persuade him to carry out the killing.

According to the investigation, G.H. accepted Abrahamyan’s alleged order and shot S.V. with a firearm on April 30, 2023.

G.H. had already been charged in connection with the murder before the latest case against Abrahamyan. He was prosecuted for the killing and the illegal circulation of a firearm. In April 2024, prosecutors sent his case to court with an indictment.

The Armenian National Security Service arrested Abrahamyan on August 8, 2026.

Authorities said he was arrested so that he could be brought before a court, where prosecutors will seek to have him placed in pre-trial detention.

The Investigative Committee said Abrahamyan is being prosecuted under Armenia’s Criminal Code for allegedly inducing another person to commit a murder for hire.

The authorities said the case is based on evidence obtained during the investigation, as well as operational-investigative measures carried out by Armenia’s National Security Service.

The Investigative Committee said the investigation is still ongoing and that investigators are carrying out further urgent investigative and procedural actions to establish all the circumstances of the case.