Criminal case initiated against activist  engaged in verbal  altercation with Speaker of Armenian Parliament  

ArmInfo.A criminal case has been launched against activist Mikael Margaryan, who engaged in a  verbal altercation with the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan.

According to Armenian media, citing the Investigative Committee (IC),  Margaryan's actions have been classified as hooliganism. The case has  been opened under Article 297, Part 2, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code  of Armenia, which provides for liability for hooliganism committed  using information or communication technologies.

Recall, the incident occurred last night. Specifically, Simonyan  approached the relatives of missing servicemen, who have been  gathering in front of the parliament building for several days,  demanding the release of a report on the 44-day war in Artsakh.  Footage released by the media shows activist Mikael Margaryan  approaching the parliament speaker as he passes by and offering to  talk. The speaker declines, saying, "I have nothing to talk about  with you; you're not worth it." A verbal altercation involving  obscene language ensues.

In a conversation with journalists, Simonyan stated that he feels no  remorse for the incident. He said the public has already made its  assessment. Moreover, according to the parliament speaker, he and the  citizen are equal in such circumstances, and his position as a  government official does not oblige him to be more patient or  cautious in his expressions. It's worth noting that this isn't the  first incident involving the speaker:  in April 2023, Alen Simonyan  found himself at the center of a scandal after spitting in the face  of a citizen who was being restrained by police officers in central  Yerevan. The citizen had called him a "traitor." Following public  condemnation, Simonyan apologized, referring to the incident as a  "lesson," although he initially perceived it as a provocation.