One of those lawmakers, Hovik Aghazarian, was ousted from the ruling Civil Contract party late last year while the other, Taron Markarian, had served as mayor of Yerevan from 2011-2018. They are facing indictment, but not yet arrest, in separate criminal cases opened by law-enforcement agencies.
Aghazarian was one of seven officials, including Armenia’s top judicial officer, whom Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told to resign in text messages sent last November. He was the only one who defied the “request.”
In the following weeks, Aghazarian found himself under criminal investigation and had his personal communication controversially accessed by Pashinian and disclosed to other senior Civil Contract figures. The party expelled him from its ranks on December 3. Pashinian declared the following day that he must be prosecuted and stripped of his seat.
“Do not doubt for a moment that all legal means will be used to achieve that goal,” the premier told the National Assembly controlled by his party.
Aghazarian has remained defiant since then, setting up his own party and pledging to strive to unseat Pashinian.
In her petition to the parliament announced on Wednesday, Vardapetian said investigators want to charge the 65-year-old lawmaker with two counts of bribery and influence peddling. The chief prosecutor claimed that a private developer paid him a $23,000 kickback in exchange for his pledge to help it receive a construction permit in Yerevan. Also, Aghazarian allegedly demanded in 2023 at least $200,000 from two other entrepreneurs who wanted to circumvent government regulations for the export of livestock from Armenia.
Aghazarian denied the allegations through his lawyer. The latter described them as government retribution for his defiance of Pashinian.
The parliament is expected to discuss the request to lift Aghazarian’s and Markarian’s immunity prosecution on March 25.
The former Yerevan mayor is affiliated with former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The authorities want to charge him with money laundering, abuse of power and illegal privatization of municipal land. Markarian did not immediately react to the move.
The HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, denounced the criminal proceedings against Markarian as “political persecution” ordered by Pashinian. Sharmazanov said the premier is thus trying to “divert public attention from real problems” and boost his flagging popularity ahead of key elections.
