Armenian speaker sues ex-president over offensive comments

On February 5, 2026, Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly Alen Simonyan submitted a lawsuit against former president Robert Kocharyan, demanding a public apology for insulting remarks and financial compensation totalling one million drams.

Armenian media, as reported by Caliber.Az, said the claim specifically requires Kocharyan to publicly acknowledge and apologise for his statements made during a press conference on January 29, 2026. The lawsuit includes the following wording:

“During the press conference convened by me on January 29, 2026, I made insulting statements toward Alen Simonyan, for which I apologise to Mr. Simonyan.”

The legal action stems from an exchange at Kocharyan’s January 29 press conference, where a journalist asked how the most difficult period in the army’s condition, remembered by the public, coincided with Kocharyan’s years in office as president. The journalist cited comments by Simonyan about serious problems within the armed forces, including shortages of food and water, as well as the humiliation of soldiers by officers.

In response, Kocharyan expressed surprise that the journalist had taken Simonyan’s words seriously, stating that Simonyan “says whatever comes to mind.”

“If Alen Simonyan is supposed to assess the combat readiness of the army, then what have we come to? What does this person understand about the army? I doubt that he even served properly at all. Because such scoundrels cannot serve properly,” Kocharyan said.

Simonyan considers these remarks to be insulting and defamatory.

As part of the lawsuit, the National Assembly speaker is demanding that Kocharyan publish the apology text on his Facebook page in a visible and publicly accessible format for at least five working days. If this is not possible, Simonyan insists the apology be published in a printed outlet with a circulation of no fewer than 5,000 copies.

In addition to the one million drams in compensation, Simonyan is seeking reimbursement of court expenses totalling 530,000 drams ($1399). This amount includes 480,000 drams ($1267) in legal fees and 50,000 drams ($132) in state duty.

By Tamilla Hasanova