Gagik Tsarukyan filed a lawsuit against Nikol Pashinyan.
The leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party and former MP Gagik Tsarukyan has filed a lawsuit against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the protection of his honor, dignity, and business reputation.
As reported by Caucasian Knot, the Prosperous Armenia candidate was suspected of bribery of a group of voters to vote for the party.
Elections to the National Assembly of Armenia will be held on June 7. According to analysts, the parties of Samvel Karapetyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and former President Robert Kocharyan will be key competitors in the elections. Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia, along with Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia, is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".
In his lawsuit, Tsarukyan demands a public retraction of several statements made by Pashinyan on May 28, Novosti-Armenia reported today.
Specifically, these statements concern statements in which, according to the plaintiff, the prime minister called him a "criminal," "spy," and "agent," accused him of "concluding a criminal deal" and "robbing the people of Armenia," and also claimed that, on the instructions of foreign intelligence services, he included Andranik Tevanyan, the leader of the Mother Armenia party, who was arrested on treason and espionage charges, on the Prosperous Armenia party list.
On May 22, it became known that security forces detained the chairman of the Mother Armenia party, Andranik Tevanyan, who is second on the list of candidates for parliament from the Prosperous Armenia party. Prior to this, the prosecutor's office convinced the Central Election Commission to agree to the criminal prosecution of the candidate. On May 22, NSS officers conducted searches in the office of the Mother Armenia party and the apartment of its leader, Andranik Tevanyan. Tevanyan's supporters at a protest demanded the release of the opposition leader. On May 23, Tevanyan was arrested for two months.
Furthermore, Tsarukyan is demanding that Pashinyan pay 6 million drams (approximately $16,000) in compensation for defamation, 3 million drams for insult, as well as legal costs, including state fees and attorney's fees (a total of approximately 300,000 drams).
The lawsuit demands a public apology, which must be published in the same media and online resources as Pashinyan's statements, within five working days of the court ruling coming into force.
The case was filed in court on June 2. It will be heard by Yerevan Civil Court Judge Naira Avetisyan, reports News.am.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that Strong Armenia bloc leader Samvel Karapetyan filed a lawsuit against Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, who called him an intelligence officer of a foreign state and demanded a retraction and compensation.