Armenian Prosecutors Move to Indict Opposition Lawmakers Following Pashinyan’s Warnings

In an ongoing political crisis in Armenia, prosecutors have asked the Armenian parliament for permission to charge two opposition lawmakers with serious crimes, following threats made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The move comes just one month after Pashinyan publicly promised to put former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan in jail.

The Prosecutor-General’s office, led by Anna Vardapetyan, announced late Monday that Ohanyan, who leads the opposition bloc Armenia Alliance, is accused of illegally privatizing government land. According to the prosecutors, Ohanyan built a private summer house on this land while he was defense minister from 2008 to 2016.

The prosecutors also accuse Artsvik Minasyan, another lawmaker from the Hayastan bloc and former environment minister, of helping Ohanyan take the land illegally. In addition, Ohanyan faces separate charges of accepting a bribe worth 58 million Armenian drams (about $150,000) from a private company in exchange for helping it secure a contract with the Defense Ministry.

Pashinyan’s party controls the Armenian National Assembly, and it is set to meet next week to decide whether to lift the immunity that protects Ohanyan and Minasyan from prosecution. Both lawmakers have strongly denied the accusations, calling them politically motivated. They claim that the Prosecutor-General, who previously worked closely with Pashinyan, is acting under the prime minister’s orders.

Ohanyan criticized the prime minister and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, accusing them of working together to distract the public. “Pashinyan and Aliyev are acting in concert, staging cheap shows in Baku and Yerevan,” Ohanyan said. “It is clear their goal is to shift attention away from the threats to Armenia’s statehood that they have created.”

Another opposition member, Armenuhi Kyureghyan, said the accusations are linked to Pashinyan’s “hysterical behavior” during a recent parliamentary question-and-answer session. On May 7, Pashinyan lost his temper while responding to opposition claims that he ignored reports of corruption among his close allies. During this session, Pashinyan shouted at Ohanyan, saying, “You must be the first to go [to prison], and you will go.”

The Armenia alliance condemned Pashinyan’s threats as illegal and called on Prosecutor-General Vardapetyan to act on her words during her appearance before the National Assembly the next day. Vardapetyan, however, avoided political statements and insisted that her office does not make political decisions.

Supporters of the opposition see the charges as an attempt by Pashinyan to silence critics ahead of future elections. Meanwhile, Pashinyan’s allies argue that the law must be applied fairly. 

The upcoming parliamentary decision on lifting immunity for the two opposition lawmakers will shape what happens next in the country’s political situation.

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