Hunger strike seriously undermines health of Imnemnimi podcast host -  opposition MP

ArmInfo. A hunger strike has seriously undermined the health of Narek Samsonyan, the host of the "Imnemnimi" podcast, who is under investigation, and he was unable to appear at the court hearing. National Assembly member Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of parliament from the opposition "I Have the  Honor" faction, wrote about this on his Facebook page.

The MP noted that Samsonyan's 15-day hunger strike had led to serious  consequences: complications with his heart and spine, as a result of  which he was brought to the hearing in a wheelchair. He added that  the opposition leader also has another health problem that requires  surgery. "I already saw him in the hospital in this condition and  knew the reasons, but I couldn't find the words to tell him about  it," Abrahamyan wrote.

He also recalled that Samsonyan's extreme step, the hunger strike,  was prompted by an unfair and illegal court ruling that extended his  pretrial detention. "We are witnessing what is happening because  those responsible for Samsonyan's health and detention conditions-the  investigator, prosecutor, and judge-put political orders above all  else," the MP concluded.

Opposition figures Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan were  detained on November 13, 2025, in Yerevan. On the same day, the  AntiFake.am editorial office was searched, and all equipment was  confiscated. The bloggers were detained at the request of Armenian  Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan for allegedly using obscene  language. Investigators are charging them with hooliganism. Notably,  this statement followed Simonyan's initial insult to the podcast  hosts in a post on his Facebook page, after which they responded. On  January 9, the court extended the pretrial detention of the  "Imnemnimi" podcast hosts for another three months, after which Narek  Samsonyan declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the  unfair trial. A week after the hunger strike, Samsonyan began  experiencing health problems. On January 23, he was taken to the  Izmirlyan Medical Center, where he is recovering from the hunger  strike and preparing for surgery.