Armenia cracks down on opposition figures over insults to Parliament speaker

Taron Chakhoyan, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Armenian Prime Minister, has addressed the recent arrest of opposition figures who allegedly insulted Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Chakhoyan underscored that Armenia is a state governed by the rule of law, and that individuals must be held accountable for their words and actions, Caliber.Az reports.

“In the days of Serzh, those insulting and threatening scoundrels would have been beaten on air and buried in toilets. But those times are over. We are a state governed by the rule of law, where every individual must answer for their words and deeds,” Chakhoyan wrote.

He added a pointed warning: “Let these insulting and threatening scoundrels know now that Serzh’s times are gone, and they will be held accountable under the law.”

According to media reports, on the morning of November 13, security forces arrived at the residences of Samsonyan and Saghatelyan, hosts of the anti-government Imnemnimi podcast. Following searches, both were taken to the Investigative Committee. Authorities stated that a case had been opened on charges of hooliganism. Later, their lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, clarified that the arrests were linked to the hooliganism case initiated in response to Simonyan’s complaint regarding insults directed at him.

By Vafa Guliyeva