Court orders Yerevan mayor’s father to pay damages over derogatory remark about Opel drivers

By Gevorg Tosunyan

Yerevan court has ordered the father of the city’s mayor to pay damages for publicly insulting drivers of Opel cars, in a ruling that has drawn attention to growing discontent over steep parking fee hikes in the Armenian capital.

On July 4, the Civil Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan partially upheld a defamation suit filed by opposition city council member Grigor Iskandaryan against Armen Avinyan, the father of Mayor Tigran Avinyan. The court ruled that Armen Avinyan must pay 250,000 Armenian drams (about $650) for damaging Iskandaryan’s honor and dignity.

The case stemmed from a controversial remark Avinyan made in December 2024, when asked by a journalist about the municipality's decision to raise parking fees in central Yerevan. “They should raise it to 500,000 drams so every yokel in his village Opel doesn’t show up and park here,” Avinyan said, according to video footage that went viral. Following the backlash, Mayor Tigran Avinyan issued a public apology for his father's comments.

The new parking fees, which came into effect on January 1, 2024, increased the annual cost of a central Yerevan parking permit from roughly $30 to about $400. The decision sparked broad public criticism, particularly since the municipality did not provide a clear justification for the 13-fold increase.

Iskandaryan, a member of the opposition "Mother Armenia" faction and an Opel owner himself, filed a lawsuit seeking 500,000 drams in symbolic compensation – the same figure Armen Avinyan mentioned in his comment.

The court, in a ruling published on Armenia’s Datalex judicial portal, found that Avinyan’s remarks could reasonably be viewed as offensive.

While the remark did not name an individual, the court said the combination of the word “yokel” with the Opel brand created an objectively degrading association with owners of that vehicle. The judge also considered the viral dissemination of the video and the defendant’s financial standing in determining the compensation.

Speaking after the verdict, Iskandaryan called it a victory. “In plain language, we won in court. True, we had asked for 500,000 drams symbolically – the same amount he said the fee should be – but the court awarded half of that,” he told reporters.

Iskandaryan added that if the ruling takes legal effect and the compensation is paid, he plans to donate the money to charity.

Armen Avinyan has one month to appeal the ruling in a higher court.