The murder of two parents by their own son, who is a member of Jehovah's Witnesses sect, caused heated public discussions in Armenia.
Arman Torosyan, 23, killed his parents - 64-year-old Khachik Torosyan and 57-year-old Marietta Torosyan in their apartment in Sevan, as he says, "fulfilling the commandment of Jehovah."
A criminal case was filed according to the Article of the Criminal Code of Armenia ("murder of two or more people") in Sevan.
The murderer must undergo a psychiatric examination; meanwhile a new wave of complaints against sects and the negative impact of their activities upon people rose in Yerevan.
'Yerevan-Moscow-Tbilisi-Kiev' teleconference, held on Wednesday, discussed the issue of the real threats sects carry, and the means of struggle against them.
According to Alexander Amaryan, head of Center for Rehabilitation and Assistance to Victims of Destructive Cults, the number of people involved in sects in Armenia reaches 368,000.
"The main goal of sectarian organizations is the 'reprocessing' of people. There are no corresponding specialists in Armenia; there are no independent centers, which may carry out a struggle against preachers," Amaryan says.
Psychiatrist Aram Hovsepyan, technical coordinator of the Armenian Psychiatric Association, says that murder and suicide cases, committed under the influence of sects, increases (even though there are no official data).
"Such patients develop a kind of disorder of mental dependency upon other people," Hovsepyan says. "We have acute psychotic disorders, which lead people to unconscious aggressive actions."
