Tensions in Armenia`s parliament

ArmInfo.  At the extraordinary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on July 8, the discussion of the petition of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan on the consent of the parliament to deprive the member of the National Assembly Artur Sargsyan of  parliamentary immunity for the purpose of subsequently bringing him  to criminal responsibility continued.

The day before, the Prosecutor General, presenting the petition in  the country's parliament, noted that on March 18, the investigative  bodies received a message that Vazgen Galstanyan, Artur Sargsyan,  Movses Sharbatyan, Hayk Shahnazaryan, Tigran Topalyan, Igor Sargsyan  and other persons were preparing to commit an act of terrorism and  seize power in the period from July 2024 to March 14, 2025. Based on  the submitted materials, on March 18, 2025, a criminal case was  initiated in the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia  under Part 1 of Article 43-308 and Part 1 of Article 43-419 of the  Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Speaking from the  parliamentary rostrum on July 8, Artur Sargsyan noted that in  democratic countries there are many cases when the Prosecutor General  comes to parliament, realizing that he has no guarantees for  satisfying the petition to deprive the MP of immunity. But the  Armenian people found themselves in an unprecedented bastion of  democracy, more specifically, a bastion of dictatorship, where  everything is decided in advance, recorded, approved. According to  him, the authorities do not even respect the presumption of innocence  and accuse him of terrorism. He noted that even from the "edited,  changed" recordings it is clear that they planned to eliminate the  government by non-prohibited methods.

The MP noted that since May last year, when the nationwide protest  movement "Sacred Struggle" swept the country, fear has awakened in  the authorities. The result of this fear for their future were  criminal cases, arrests, and falsified charges. This time, the MP  noted, the authorities waited longer than usual, but this did not  change the content of their rule. 

"Literally the next day after the early parliamentary elections of  2021, I became one of those against whom an illegal criminal case was  initiated, and the judges arrested me. I was not afraid, on the  contrary, I became more determined in my rightness, as a result of  which I was released and continued the struggle," the MP said, adding  that today the same group decided to arrest him again in order to  isolate him from the people, friends, family and loved ones. "You  will remember all your lives how much misery you have brought to this  nation. I have fought and will fight, and know that you will leave,  you will be forgotten and will never be remembered again," Sargsyan  said, addressing the parliamentary majority.

After this speech, the situation in the NA session hall once again  sharply escalated: representatives of the ruling faction and the  opposition went out into the corridor, where they continued to sort  things out.

According to NA member of parliament from the opposition faction  "Armenia" Kristine Vardanyan, after Sargsyan's speech, a scuffle  broke out involving NA members of the ruling "Civil Contract"  faction, in which assistants of the deputies from the ruling party  were also involved.

NA Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan was forced to announce a break.