Armenian top lawmaker defends opposition figures' arrest over alleged threats

Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan has addressed the recent arrest of opposition figures Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan, which came after he filed a formal complaint with law enforcement authorities.

Simonyan stressed the importance of respecting personal privacy and noted that threats carry criminal implications, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Yes, everyone will be held accountable under the law—anyone engaging in hooliganism or making threats. Nothing surprising,” he told journalists.

Simonyan expressed confidence that his actions were justified and urged individuals who receive threats or insults to report them to the authorities.

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