Armenia PM’s Office Denies Claims Pashinyan Approved LGBT Parade in Yerevan

Armenia’s prime minister’s office has rejected claims spreading online that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan approved an LGBT community parade in Yerevan on April 7.

The statement was made by Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan, who said that the reports circulating in the media and on social networks were false.

According to the spokesperson, the material being shared does not match reality and shows signs linked to what officials describe as foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). She said the content forms part of broader hybrid influence campaigns aimed at shaping public opinion through misleading or distorted narratives.

Baghdasaryan pointed to the author of the publication, Okay Deprem, stating that the same individual has previously published unreliable and manipulative information about Armenia’s state institutions. She noted that this pattern has been recorded by Armenian and international expert communities.

Okay Deprem is a Turkish journalist, sociologist, and political analyst known for his reporting on Russia, Ukraine, and the post-Soviet region, particularly Donbas. Born in 1980 in Ankara, he studied sociology in Turkey and later East–West relations in Germany. He has lived and worked extensively in former Soviet countries, holds dual Turkish-Russian citizenship, and has contributed to various international media outlets. Deprem has co-authored a book on Russian President Vladimir Putin and has reported on human rights and regional conflicts, receiving recognition such as the Emil Çeçko Human Rights Award in Belarus. At the same time, Armenian authorities note that some of his past publications concerning Armenia — including claims about alleged territorial or resource concessions — have been officially denied by the government and flagged by fact-checkers as misleading or disinformation. In 2025, he was briefly detained by Belarusian authorities while reporting in the country, an incident that drew international attention.

Baghdasaryan stressed that the goal of such publications is to deepen divisions within society and weaken public confidence in government institutions, particularly ahead of election periods.

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