Opposition lawmaker Artur Khachatryan defended businessman Samvel Karapetyan, asserting that his statements contained no call to seize power.
Speaking to reporters, Artur Khachatryan, a member of the “Hayastan” faction, questioned the rationale behind the criminal case against Karapetyan, saying: “I want to understand what part of Karapetyan’s statement constituted a public call to seize power.”
“Was there a call to overthrow the constitutional order? Opposition parties also say that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan should step down after seven years of hardship — does that mean we’re calling for a coup?” he added, according to Aysor.am .
In response to questions about Karapetyan’s controversial remark “I don’t care about the power grid,” Khachatryan clarified: “He meant that you can’t silence him through attacks on his property.”
Meanwhile, MP Agnesa Khamoyan stated in Parliament that the opposition cannot compete with Prime Minister Pashinyan in rhetoric, but rejected the notion that this amounts to political defeat. “If you think you’re winning because we lose at rhetoric, you’re badly mistaken,” she said, according to Radar.am .
Khamoyan also criticized Pashinyan’s leadership, saying he lacks an understanding of the gravity of his office. “While the world stands on the brink of a third world war, you’ve taken on the roles of chief gynecologist and urologist of the country. With war looming, your top concern seems to be obsessing over people’s virginity,” she remarked.
On the night of June 18, Karapetyan was taken from his Yerevan residence by law enforcement. Hours earlier, he had issued a statement supporting the Armenian Apostolic Church: “I stand with our Church and people. No matter how much they try to defame us — I don’t care about them or their grid. Everything will be fine. The people will speak up, and they’ll realize their mistake.”
In response, Pashinyan posted on social media: “Why have the debauched ‘clergy’ and their debauched ‘philanthropists’ become active? Never mind — we’ll shut them down again. For good.” He later added that the electric grid must be nationalized swiftly.
