The editorial staff of the Armenian media outlet Armat Media stated that the searches had a political subtext.
Security officials conducted a search of the editorial office of Armat Media, owned by Alik Aleksanyan, an arrested associate of Strong Armenia leader Samvel Karapetyan. Telephones and computers were seized from employees. The official reason for the searches is a case of calls to bribe participants in campaign meetings. The pressure on the media is political in nature, the publication's representatives stated.
As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Investigative Committee of Armenia has opened criminal cases against 37 people involved in the case of Alik Aleksanyan, a previously arrested associate of Samvel Karapetyan. Alik Aleksanyan, a member of the Strong Armenia opposition bloc, is suspected of money laundering and bribing Armenian residents in the political interests of businessman Samvel Karapetyan.
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, are among 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".
Security forces have begun searches at the Armat Media editorial office. Eleven phones and two computers were confiscated from employees, the publication's editor, Aghavni Sukiasyan, reported.
According to her, officers from the National Security Service and the Investigative Committee are searching for materials on alleged material incentives for citizens to participate in meetings, as well as information on salaries and routes to events.
The editorial office stated that journalists were not allowed to contact colleagues, and one of the law enforcement officers pulled correspondent Amalia Arakelyan by the arm, Armenia Today writes.
"I was presented with a court decision stating that the editorial office of Armat Media is searching for materials related to calls for material incentives for participation in meetings," Aysor.Am quotes Sukiasyan as saying.
Armat Media's work is paralyzed. "We can't work, the website can't function, we can't produce programs," Aghavni said. Sukiasyan.
"The court's ruling stated that, in the Alik Aleksanyan case, the court granted them permission to search the editorial offices of Armat Media. According to the court's ruling, law enforcement officials were required to search the premises for storage media, computers, meeting routes, and employee salary documents," News.Am quotes her as saying.
"The first thing they did was access our social media pages on a computer and connect the storage media they brought with them to our work computer. We don't know what information was on the storage media they brought, which they may have downloaded to our computer," Aghavni Sukiasyan emphasized.
Armat Media Editor-in-Chief Nelly Avetisyan stated that this is the authorities' fight against free media and freedom of speech. "The international community must respond concretely to this. This is the precedent that followed yesterday's major debate, and it turns out that after a major debate, where Nikol Pashinyan clearly lost with his words, today he's already attacked the media and freedom of speech. This is a purely political matter; there's no problem with the media's work here; it's simply serving political interests before the elections, preventing us from working," she noted. Sukiasyan noted that Alik Aleksanyan had previously submitted a declaration to the Corruption Prevention Commission stating that Alik Aleksanyan is the owner of Armat Media.