Hayk Dorunts says he was taken from church with mouth covered through use of force

“My mouth was covered and they took me away — it was an unpleasant and abnormal situation,” activist Hayk Dorunts told ABC Media.

“I had decided to speak out against injustice. What happened at Hovhannavank is shameful. You ask how I felt — it was a very bad and unpleasant moment. Citizens could have taken other actions too because tensions were high,” Dorunts said.

The situation was such that there was no possibility of approaching the monastery again. Dorunts expressed expectations from the opposition, questioning why no clear measures are being initiated.

“Our opposition should unite citizens not around an individual or a party, but around an idea — which currently does not exist, we do not see it,” he said.

On Oct. 26, during a “service” performed by a defrocked priest at Hovhannavank, activist Hayk Dorunts, citing the former priest by name, stated that he could not conduct the service. He was removed from the church with his mouth covered and through the use of force.