Armenian Anti-Corruption Committee denies detention of Sotk village head, opposition party leader UPDATED

Head of the Sotk (Zod) rural community, Sevak Khachatryan, and leader of the "United Vardenis" faction in the Council of Elders of the enlarged Vardenis (Basarkechar) community, Davit Shahnazaryan, have not been detained by law enforcement authorities.

Spokesperson for Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee, Marina Oganjanyan, confirmed that both officials were involved in investigative actions as part of an ongoing case, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media reports.

“They are not suspects or defendants in the case currently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Committee,” Oganjanyan stated.

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Sevak Khachatryan, the head of Sotk village (also known as Zod) in Armenia’s Vardenis (Basarkechar – ed.), has been detained, according to reports from Armenian media and sources linked to the revanchist movement “Holy Struggle.”

In addition to Khachatryan’s arrest, David Shahnazaryan, leader of the opposition faction “United Vardenis” in the City Elders’ Council of Vardenis, has also been detained, Caliber.Az reports, citing a Telegram channel associated with the group.

No further information is available at this time.

The recent arrests form part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s intensifying crackdown on opposition figures and critics, particularly those connected to the Armenian Apostolic Church and nationalist groups opposing his peace efforts with Azerbaijan. While details regarding the charges or circumstances of the detentions remain undisclosed, these actions fit a broader pattern of targeting influential dissenters amid Armenia’s escalating church-state tensions and complex geopolitical challenges.

The detentions of Sevak Khachatryan and David Shakhnazaryan come amid Pashinyan’s concerted efforts to suppress opposition voices following Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War and the contentious border delimitation agreements reached with Azerbaijan in 2024. This campaign has particularly focused on clergy, opposition leaders, and prominent figures associated with nationalist organizations such as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), reflecting a wider attempt to consolidate political control amid deepening national divisions.

By Khagan Isayev