By Lia Avagyan
Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was taken to Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee early on Tuesday, a day after a heated parliamentary exchange between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Kocharyan’s son, opposition lawmaker Levon Kocharyan.
Law enforcement officers also searched the home of Levon Kocharyan, a member of parliament from the Armenia Alliance, according to opposition lawmakers.
Bagrat Mikoyan, head of Robert Kocharyan’s office, said in a Facebook post that investigators had taken the former president to the Anti-Corruption Committee. He described the move as another government “attack” on Kocharyan and his family.
Authorities have not yet said publicly which criminal case the move is connected to or what Kocharyan’s legal status is.
Mesrop Manukyan, another Armenia Alliance lawmaker, said law enforcement officers entered Levon Kocharyan’s home at around 7 a.m. He linked the action to the previous day’s confrontation in parliament, saying “the instruction comes directly from the parliamentary rostrum.”
The searches came after a tense exchange on Monday, Aug. 24, between Levon Kocharyan and Pashinyan over alleged political persecution and the wealth of the Kocharyan family.
Dispute over courts and family wealth
During a question-and-answer session in parliament, Kocharyan accused Pashinyan of exerting political pressure on courts and investigative bodies, arguing that a prime minister should not publicly decide who should be imprisoned or stripped of assets.
“If the country’s prime minister says this person should go to prison and that person should be deprived of their property, that is a political order,” Kocharyan said. “This is not normal. It contradicts European standards and democracy.”
Pashinyan responded by questioning how the Kocharyan family had accumulated its wealth.
“Why are you a millionaire? How did you become a millionaire? How did your family become millionaires?” Pashinyan said.
The prime minister went on to say that assets he described as having been acquired at the public’s expense should be returned to the state. “You will have to return everything, piece by piece, to the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said. “And yes, that is my political mission, my demand and the responsibility I have undertaken before the people.”
Levon Kocharyan replied that in a democratic country, the legality of property ownership and any decision to confiscate assets should be determined by courts, not by the head of government. He said such statements amounted to “direct pressure on the court” when related cases were already being heard.
At the end of the exchange, Pashinyan referred to the New Testament phrase, “Judge not, that you be not judged,” before adding: “Yes, I am judging you, and I will judge you, and I am ready to be judged by the same standard.”
Robert Kocharyan, who served as Armenia’s president from 1998 to 2008, remains a major opposition figure. The Armenia Alliance led by him finished third in Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election and entered parliament with 12 seats.
The Anti-Corruption Committee has not publicly said that Tuesday’s actions were connected to the parliamentary exchange.
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