Armenia’s Investigative Committee has not launched criminal proceedings over statements made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against opposition representatives. The committee confirmed the decision, according to Factor.am .
The committee stated: “Regarding the report of an alleged crime submitted by Aram Vardevanyan, a member of the Strong Armenia alliance, a protocol on refusal to initiate criminal proceedings has been drawn up and sent to the supervising prosecutor to verify its legality.”
Last week, during the election campaign, Pashinyan made a series of aggressive remarks while arguing in separate incidents with Artsakh public figure Artur Osipyan and doctor Arpine Soghoyan. In his comments, he referred to former Armenian presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, as well as parliamentary election candidates Samvel Karapetyan and Gagik Tsarukyan, using threats involving “crushing” and “destroying” them.
During the campaign, the sister of missing senior officer Hrant Papikyan, who disappeared during the 44-day war, approached Pashinyan and accused him of “stealing the homeland.”
In response, Pashinyan reacted sharply, shouting: “If you are Rob’s people, I will crush Rob too, I will crush the Kaluga guy too, I will crush Gago too, I will crush Serzh too, I will crush Rob.”
After the woman replied that “the one being crushed is Pashinyan,” the prime minister continued with further remarks targeting Robert Kocharyan, Samvel Karapetyan and others, including accusations that masked individuals speaking with a Karabakh accent had fled the battlefield during the war.
Following the statements, Factor.am contacted the Prosecutor’s Office to ask whether videos circulated in the media had been examined in order to determine whether proceedings should be initiated over the prime minister’s remarks. The office replied that no such review had been conducted.
In connection with the incident, lawyer and parliamentary candidate from the Strong Armenia alliance Aram Vardevanyan filed a crime report. The Prosecutor’s Office forwarded the complaint to the Investigative Committee to decide whether proceedings should be launched.
The Central Electoral Commission later rejected an application submitted by Vardevanyan, which proposed discussing possible liability measures against Nikol Pashinyan, who heads the electoral list of the Civil Contract party, and requesting legal assessment of statements made during the campaign.
