11:59, 28 March 2021

Manvel Grigoryan's widow announces creation of alternative volunteers' union

Manvel Grigoryan in the courtroom. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

The widow of Manvel Grigoryan, the former chairman of the "Yerkrapa" Union of Volunteers, who accused of embezzlement together with her husband, has announced the creation of a new union, the "Fifth Brigade".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported wrote that Manvel Grigoryan, the head of the "Yerkrapa" Union of Volunteers, was detained in June 2018 within the case of illegal arms trafficking and large-scale embezzlement. During a search, firearms were found in his house. The Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, then stated that the retired general had embezzled humanitarian aid intended for the army. The defence of Manvel Grigoryan pointed to the grave state of his health and insisted on the release of the general from arrest. This was achieved in January 2020. With the start of hostilities in Karabakh, Grigoryan visited the conflict zone. After that, his health condition deteriorated sharply; and last November he died at the age of 65.

Nazik Amiryan, his widow together with like-minded people, decided to found an alternative union of volunteers – the "Fifth Brigade", named after the unit that Grigoryan commanded during the first Karabakh war in early 1990s.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 27, 2021 at 04:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.