Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian apparently gained access to such information through a law-enforcement agency that confiscated his mobile phone while interrogating him late last month. Aghazarian was repeatedly summoned to the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) after declining Pashinian’s “request” to leave the National Assembly.
Pashinian reportedly shared at least some of the content of Aghazarian’s private communication stored in the phone with senior Civil Contract members before they decided to expel the outspoken parliamentarian on Tuesday night. The prime minister said the following day that “political, moral, and other levers” will be used to strip Aghazarian of his parliament seat. The latter continued to resist the pressure despite the risk of his indictment.
Interviewed by Factor.am late on Thursday, Aghazarian claimed that unnamed “powerful guys” have tried to blackmail him into accepting “the prime minister’s request.”
“They said, ‘We’ve got such a thing: give up your seat or various people, including members of your family, will find out,’” he told the online broadcaster.
“They tell me, ‘Are you OK, Mr. Aghazarian, with your sons finding out this information?’ I say, ‘Yes, I am.’ They tell me, ‘Are you OK with this one finding out this information?’ I say, ‘No, I’m not.’ ‘But what if they find out?’ [they say.] If they find out, I'll say something else,” said the 64-year-old.
Aghazarian did not name the alleged blackmailers or shed light on the sensitive “information.” But he did ask: “Let's say I had an affair with a woman. Is that subject to publication? Is that a crime?”
Pashinian and members of his entourage did not immediately react to the allegations. They have accused Aghazarian of leaking to media sensitive information relating to Armenia’s national security. The lawmaker denies such leaks.
His lawyer, Hakob Charoyan, charged on Friday that ACC investigators and/or other law-enforcement officers committed a serious crime by giving Pashinian private data taken from Aghazarian’s phone. Charoyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that he has formally demanded “answers” from them.
Pashinian said on Wednesday that he did not break any laws when he accessed the data and shared it with members of his party’s governing board. His political foes claim the opposite, saying that he once again trampled on the country’s constitution and laws.