The court arrested Tevanyan for two months.
Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia party and number two on the Prosperous Armenia party's election list, has been arrested for two months. The court allowed him to participate in the election process through representatives.
As reported by the Caucasian Knot, last night it became known that security forces detained Andranik Tevanyan, chairman of the Mother Armenia party, who is second on the Prosperous Armenia party's list of candidates for parliament. Prior to this, the prosecutor's office convinced the Central Election Commission to agree to criminal prosecution of the candidate. On May 22, NSS officers conducted searches of the Mother Armenia party's office and the apartment of its leader, Andranik Tevanyan. Today, Tevanyan's supporters demanded the opposition leader's release at a protest.
On May 20, during the election campaign, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the National Security Service would forward the criminal case against Andranik Tevanyan on charges of treason to the Investigative Committee. The following day, the Investigative Committee announced that criminal proceedings had been initiated against Andranik Tevanyan on charges of treason and espionage. According to investigators, Tevanyan, in 2024, for a fee of $622,000, passed information from a closed parliamentary session containing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service. Tevanyan called the charges "ridiculous" because he resigned his parliamentary mandate in 2023 and could not participate in closed parliamentary hearings in 2024.
Opposition politician Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia party and number two on the Prosperous Armenia party's election list, has been arrested for two months, the Novosti Armenia agency reported.
Lawyer Aram Orbelyan told reporters that the case materials contain no evidence of treason or any crime whatsoever, Aysor.am reports.
The court allowed Tevanyan to participate in the election process through representatives. According to the lawyer, the defense plans to appeal the decision to arrest the politician, Armenia Today reports.
As a reminder, oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia party and the Mother Armenia party are participating in the parliamentary elections. On February 15, Tevanyan stated that they were "fully satisfied" with the Prosperous Armenia party's election program and spoke of the need for "opposition forces to participate in the elections as a united front," adding that "a change of power is necessary."
Armenian Parliamentary Elections The elections are scheduled for June 7. Seventeen parties and two blocs have been admitted. Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc, Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc, and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia party are the most pro-Russian participants in the upcoming elections. The Kremlin is backing Karapetyan, but he is legally ineligible to participate.
The opposition's fragmentation has not diminished despite the campaign that began on May 8 and the increased pressure: the main opposition parties are vying for votes and political leadership. Representatives of the "Strong Armenia" and "Armenia" blocs pointed to the importance of partnership with Russia, but emphasized the need for the country to pursue an independent policy.
The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".
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