By Siranush Adamyan
A Yerevan court has accepted for consideration a defamation lawsuit filed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan over allegations involving hallucinogenic mushrooms.
According to Armenia’s Datalex judicial information system, the lawsuit concerns statements made by Karapetyan during a May 7 press conference. Karapetyan claimed that Pashinyan had allegedly brought “one tonne of hallucinogenic mushrooms” from China and used them before public appearances.
Pashinyan responded the same day by announcing that he would sue Karapetyan. During a May 14 briefing, he confirmed that the lawsuit had already been filed.
The prime minister is asking the court to compel Karapetyan to publicly retract the statement and pay 6 mn drams (about $15,000) in compensation for non-material damages caused by defamation.
The dispute comes amid an increasingly heated campaign ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections. Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire leading the Strong Armenia Alliance, is widely viewed as one of the main challengers to Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party.
Karapetyan made the remarks during a livestreamed briefing from his Yerevan residence, where he remains under house arrest on charges including calling for a coup and money laundering.
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