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Persecution of nonapostolic religious organisations in Armenia. Part 5
More news,
Text 138265 (59 lines)
From: Amsu (das) HKS (Armenia)
Date: 01-May-95 19:26 SST
To: ICE (ISKCON Communications Europe) [667]
Subject: More attacks in Armenia
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At 26th April, 1995 at about 2100 hours 8 armed men came to the apartment
of ISKCON members Yervand Zakaryan (born 1951) and his wife Haykanush
Ananyan (1950), living at Hanrapetutyan str. 62, apt. 29, Yerevan.
Yervand Zakaryan is a very respected man in the country. He is a former
sroptsman, a winner of the USSR championship in fencing of 1969, and honor
prices of many international and USSR championships. Their only son, Karen
with his wife Susan Khachatryan, are presently in Honolulu, Hawaii, doing
missionary service in the Hare Krishna Food for Life charity restourant
there since 10th December 1994.
The "guests" first presented themselevs as Karen's friends, but when the
houseehold couple suspected something and didn't want to open the door,
they told they're Defence Ministry officials and called the neighbours,
showing their documents. But when the door was opened, immedietly the
"officials" stormed itto the house and started rubbing and abusing the
household couple for baing Krishna devotees, at the same time demanding
the money, which as the thugs said they, as the leaders of ISKCON are
getting from America for the ideological destruction of Armenia.
In the presence of three neighbors they went on rubbing and abusing the
householders for 3 hours. They were also demanding the list of names and
addresses of the other ISKCON members. They took all the valuables,
including $2000 cash, 100 000 drams (Armenian currency), all the golden
and diamond ornaments of $2500 value, silver utencils of about 1kg weight,
a color TV set, Hi-Fi stereo system, abot 300 volumes of classical and
religious literature, oil paintings from the wall, all the fresh clothes,
including socks and underwears. They only left the glass utencils, wich
they said could break on the way.
Abut the midnight they took the couple to the Defence Ministry Militia
(fidayin) troops' headquarter of the Shengavit district of Yerevan (where
they were coming from) and again demanded the list of the devotees, but
Yervand said, that he knows only the location of the temple wich is closed
after the recent attack.
Then one of the soldiers took him to a separate office and started beating
with a wooden stick all over his body, again he refused to give any
address. Then four of them took him into a Volga car and were beating and
abusing him there for about 30 minutes, saying that they are going to send
hin to the front line in Karabagh, where the Armenians would kill him.
Later, at about 0300 hours they brought in his wife too and drove them to
the Military Police station, taking with them only the religious
literature and paraphernalia. Yervand was put in a sell, where he met
another 8 members of other religious minority groups, and his wife was
taken back to the Militia headquarters, where she was threatened, that if
she doesn't sign a document, declaring that no valuables were taken from
their house, she will be sent to the jail and her husband would be sent to
the war and killed. She had to sign the paper.
At about 0400 hours they drove her back to the flat, where they forced her
to give something to eat, and some alcohol drinks, started drinking and
mocking at Haykanush, threatening and trying to rape her, but she said
that she'll commit suicide, if they rape her. This went on for 2,5 hours
and around 0530 someone came from their headquarters and took them back.
Yervand was being kept in the Millitary Police jail for two days, where he
refused to take any food at all.
He was released at 1200 hours of 28th April, because of the public
pressure of some of his influential friends appealed to the goverment. The
other religious members were still being kept in the jail and probably
will be sent to Karabagh war. He was released only bacause of the public
pressure upon the from his influential friends.
