By Siranush Adamyan
Billionaire businessman and opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan has filed a lawsuit against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, demanding a public apology and 3 mn drams ($7,800) in damages over remarks he says were insulting.
The lawsuit was filed on Sept. 9, according to Armenia’s Datalex judicial information system. Karapetyan is currently under house arrest.
The case concerns remarks Pashinyan made during a campaign event in Armenia’s Tavush region on May 29, 2026. Karapetyan is asking the court to require the prime minister to read an apology during a live broadcast on his official Facebook page.
Under the wording proposed in the lawsuit, Pashinyan would say that he apologizes to Karapetyan for making insulting remarks about him during the May 29 appearance. Karapetyan also wants the live broadcast to carry a title stating that Pashinyan is apologizing to him, without additional commentary or participation by third parties.
Karapetyan is also seeking 3 mn drams ($7,800) in compensation for the alleged insult, as well as reimbursement of court fees and legal expenses.
The dispute stems from an increasingly personal exchange between the two men. During the May 29 campaign event, Pashinyan was responding to Karapetyan’s allegation that the prime minister consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms brought from China.
Pashinyan said he had first heard about such mushrooms from “Samo from Kaluga,” an apparent reference to Karapetyan, who built much of his business career in Russia. He went on to say that when Karapetyan and people around him traveled to China or elsewhere, hallucinogenic mushrooms were among their first interests. Pashinyan added that he would make Karapetyan “eat mushrooms de jure in court” in front of everyone.
The latest lawsuit is part of a broader series of legal disputes between Pashinyan and Karapetyan.
Pashinyan has already filed two separate lawsuits against Karapetyan, seeking public retractions and a combined 12 mn drams ($31,000) in compensation. Those cases concern Karapetyan’s claims that Pashinyan owns a house in Canada and that he imported and consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms from China.
Both lawsuits have been accepted for consideration by the courts. In one of the cases, an appeal against an interim ruling has already been sent to the Civil Court of Appeal.
The legal battle comes amid a broader political confrontation between the two men. Their relations sharply deteriorated in 2025 after Karapetyan publicly backed the Armenian Apostolic Church during Pashinyan’s dispute with the church leadership. Karapetyan was later arrested and charged with making public calls to seize power, accusations he has denied.
The government also moved against Electric Networks of Armenia, the country’s electricity distributor owned by Karapetyan’s Tashir Group, while Karapetyan increasingly positioned himself as a political rival to Pashinyan.
Karapetyan later became the leader of the Strong Armenia alliance, which finished second in the June 7 parliamentary election and became the largest opposition force in parliament.
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