The actions of law enforcement officers were quite public, I would not call it an “attack” in any way. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Armen Mkrtchyan told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am at the National Assembly of Armenia Monday—and referring to the developments that unrolled at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on June 27.

When asked how he assesses the fact that a person wants to voluntarily go to the police and investigative bodies of Armenia, but the police resort to a scenario of forceful actions and attempt to detain Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian, the Primate of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the deputy minister said: “It was a normal operation. If I am not mistaken, there is also a proceeding launched in connection with the obstruction of the actions of law enforcement bodies, and I believe that everything will become clear within that framework.”