Pashinian insulted and pledged to “go after” deputies from the main opposition Hayastan alliance on May 7 after they accused him of turning a blind eye to media allegations of corruption among members of his entourage during the Armenian government’s question-and-answer session in the parliament.
“If we had acted on media articles, we would have hanged you and expelled you from Armenia altogether … If I am guided by media reports, I will have to throw all of you into the NSS (National Security Service) basement,” he said.
“You must be the first to go [to prison] and you will go,” Pashinian told one of the opposition lawmakers, former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, in an ensuing shouting match. He called Ohanian a “moron.”
Hayastan leaders condemned Pashinian’s threats as illegal and challenged Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian to act on them when she appeared before the National Assembly the following day. Vardapetian, who previously worked as a legal aide to Pashinian, responded by repeatedly saying that she does not make “political statements.”
Taguhi Tovmasian, an opposition lawmaker currently not affiliated with any political group, afterwards appealed to Armenia’s Commission on the Prevention of Corruption to investigate Pashinian’s behavior.
It emerged on Friday that the commission launched such an inquiry on May 15. A commission spokeswoman told reporters that it will ask those involved in the May 7 incident to present written explanations.
Pashinian will face little sanction if he is found guilty of misconduct. Under Armenian law, the commission can only censure him.
Pashinian’s political allies have defended his latest outburst, with parliament speaker Alen Simonian saying that it is the opposition lawmakers who must apologize to the premier. Simonian claimed on May 8 that the incident was the result of their “insolent” behavior.
Pashinian has repeatedly lost his temper on the parliament floor in recent years. In March this year, he threatened to “throw against the wall” and “trample underfoot” Armenia’s three former presidents if they don’t stop blaming him for the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh. One of the ex-presidents, Robert Kocharian, is Hayastan’s top leader.
Pashinian has repeatedly claimed to have eliminated “systemic corruption” in Armenia since coming to power in 2018. However, members of his political team are increasingly accused by media of using their positions to enrich themselves, their families or cronies.