67 religious organizations are registered in Armenia, 10 of which function under the Armenian Apostolic Church, 6 are old branches of traditional churches while the other 51 are sects.

As Head of the Center for Aid and Rehabilitation to the Victims of Destructive Cults, Alexander Amaryan told a press conference on August 17, about 300-350 thousand people in Armenia are members of various sectarian organizations. “From the legal point of view, these organizations are independent. However, it’s not a secret that they are all financed by the United States,” Amaryan said.

He noted that from 2 to 7 years are needed to bring a “zombified” person back to normal life.

“We have no law to call those responsible to account and no law to control these organizations,” he said, pointing out to the lack of lawyers, religious specialists and psychologists.