Former Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, wrote on Facebook that “the country is under party rule and personal autocracy.”

He stated that “the head of the executive branch is discrediting law enforcement by issuing them explicit political directives.”

“Everything is clear with the head of the Civil Contract party who occupies the post of Prime Minister. In pursuit of power, he steps beyond his authority, unlawfully interferes with or usurps the exclusive powers of law enforcement agencies. These powers belong solely to those institutions, and it is forbidden for the Prime Minister to act as he does.

Law enforcement bodies must not allow the Civil Contract party to turn them into tools for its political interests through actions that undermine statehood.

The executive leader’s public directives to law enforcement—stating what they can or cannot do—devalue their legitimacy. This is orchestrated: some MPs from the ruling party quickly jump in to justify and spread these instructions. The political obsession is so deep that they don’t realize the PM’s statements themselves serve as evidence of their illegality.

This is how the foundations of a legal state are destroyed, checks and balances cease to function, and democratic mechanisms are dismantled. It turns out all institutions, including those meant to be independent of government, now serve one person and one party.

Any investigative or prosecutorial action at the Mother See already bears the mark of illegality due to the unlawful directives issued by the Prime Minister, who also leads the Civil Contract party.

These are proof that the country is under party rule and personal power,” Tatoyan wrote.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier posted that “the house of Christ has been seized by an immoral, anti-national group and must be liberated,” adding that he would “lead this liberation.”