Fight with three heads: Armenian authorities continue to put pressure on the opposition

Pressure on the opposition continues to increase in Armenia. The leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, Gagik Tsarukyan, turned out to be involved in criminal cases, and after a series of searches he was detained. Former President Robert Kocharian is also facing criminal prosecution, and the head of the Strong Armenia party, Samvel Karapetyan, has been under house arrest for several months. Izvestia investigated the situation.

What happened

Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia in early June. The campaign turned out to be scandalous, the opposition recorded large-scale violations. One of the main episodes was related to Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia party. The union won 3.996% of the vote, meaning it only needed a few ballots to pass the 4% electoral threshold.

After summing up the results, the CEC considered several complaints and decided that the counting of votes at a number of polling stations was irregular. However, the election commission refused to hold re-elections, because opposition voters would allegedly specifically vote for the affected party.

At the same time, the media wrote that the Armenian authorities are actually ready to allow "Prosperous Armenia" into parliament, but require representatives of the association to vote in solidarity with the ruling party at particularly important moments. According to the newspaper "Graparak", Gagik Tsarukyan refused this offer.

As a result, the politician found himself under serious forceful pressure. A tax evasion case was opened against him, and on July 6, National Security Service officers searched Tsarukyan's house. It was reported that the building was surrounded by machine gunners, a drone was floating in the air, and lawyers were not allowed to be present during the investigative actions.

In addition, security forces conducted 70 searches in companies belonging to Tsarukyan's Multi Group concern. We are talking, in particular, about the Olympic Committee base, the Yerevan Brandy, Wine and Vodka Factory, the Multi Wellness sports complex, several large hotels and other divisions.

During all these procedures, the details of the criminal prosecution came to light. In one of the cases, Tsarukyan was accused of allegedly setting up a fraudulent fuel supply scheme with Iranian citizens, with damage amounting to $934,000. Another case is related to some kind of illegal hunting of wild animals and birds, in this case the damage is estimated at $81 thousand.

The politician was eventually detained, and he did not admit the charges. "All this is fabricated, it's a lie, a dummy. There is nothing one hundred percent true, everything will be clarified," he told supporters gathered outside the Investigative Committee building.

What is important to know

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said immediately after the parliamentary elections that he set himself the task of completely defeating the current opposition. "The three-headed espionage war party must be eradicated from the country. This is what we have to do in the political field in the next five years," he stressed, referring to Prosperous Armenia, former President Robert Kocharian's Armenia bloc, and Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia.

As a result, it wasn't just Gagik Tsarukyan who started having problems. Robert Kocharyan, for example, was first banned from leaving the country, then his parliamentary immunity was lifted, and then a criminal case was opened in connection with some old real estate transactions. "The case is simply absurd. The charge says that in 2004 I ratified the government's decision, but according to the constitution I just couldn't do it," said the former president.

The situation is similar with the "Strong Armenia" party of entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan. The leader of the association himself spent several months behind bars last year, and has been under house arrest since December. At the same time, during the election, Karapetyan stated that during the election campaign and immediately after it, security forces detained 700 supporters of the party. On election day alone, 150 people were arrested, including the chiefs of staff.

At the same time, the opposition hoped to achieve justice in the Constitutional Court. At the end of June, seven associations immediately appealed to this instance with a demand to annul the election results. As expected, however, success was not achieved. In early July, the judges rejected all the applications, leaving the CEC decision in force.

In addition, the oppositionists were thinking of giving up their parliamentary mandates in protest. As a result, however, representatives of both parties that passed the electoral threshold did not take this step. "A mandate is a weapon. We are going to parliament not for positions or status, but to begin a new stage of struggle," the statement of the Armenia bloc said.

Other opposition representatives explain that the wave of repression is linked to the precarious position of the ruling party. The leader of the Democratic Alternative association, Suren Surenyants, stressed that after the parliamentary elections, the government became illegitimate. According to the politician, Nikol Pashinyan and his team are aware of the precariousness of their positions, so they are forced to create artificial turbulence in the country.

Surenyants also noted that the Armenian authorities had never acted so openly and repressively before. "We should expect the worst. Total arrests and detentions are expected," he warned. At the same time, he added that Pashinyan and his team would not be able to hold power for long anyway, a maximum of a year and a half. But all this time, according to the politician, the prime minister will run amok, being under the auspices of a "specific geopolitical center."

What the experts say

Arman Abovyan, a former member of the Armenian parliament, notes the growing political repression in the country, drawing attention to the fact that "by a strange coincidence" the persecution began against those who advocate expanding ties with Moscow.

— The country is clearly following the path of Moldova, turning into an anti-Russian springboard. Azerbaijan and Turkey are behind all this, and more globally, Europe as well. They all don't care how our country will feel in such conditions, whether it will be able to survive without contact with Russia. The main thing for them is to realize their own geopolitical goals," the Izvestia interlocutor emphasizes.

In turn, Andrei Areshev, a political scientist and expert at the Strategic Culture Foundation, says that the Armenian authorities are actively attacking their opponents, trying to achieve a favorable situation through repression, bribery and blackmail.

— Perhaps they still expect to get the same constitutional majority in parliament that they failed to achieve in the elections. The opposition does not dare to launch a large-scale street protest, it is going to take mandates and sit in the National Assembly. It's hard to say whether such tactics will be effective," he argues.