Yerevan Civil Court on June 12 accepted for consideration a lawsuit filed by Prosperous Armenia Party leader and parliamentary candidate Gagik Tsarukyan against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The lawsuit seeks the retraction of statements alleged to be defamatory and insulting, a public apology, and compensation exceeding 9 million drams, Sputnik Armenia reported.

The claim was submitted to the court on June 2, and on June 12 Judge Naira Avetisyan of the Yerevan Civil Court formally accepted it for proceedings.

Through the lawsuit, Tsarukyan has asked the court to require Pashinyan, within five working days after the judgment enters into legal force, to publicly retract the allegedly defamatory factual statements made about him. The retraction would have to be issued in a location accessible to Armenian media outlets, with the media informed at least 24 hours in advance.

According to the claim, Pashinyan must retract remarks made during a May 28 briefing in which he allegedly described Tsarukyan as a “criminal,” “spy,” and “agent,” accused him of having “entered into a criminal deal,” “robbing the people of Armenia,” and including Andranik Tevanyan on the Prosperous Armenia electoral list “at the instruction of a foreign intelligence service.” The lawsuit demands that Pashinyan state that these claims are false and do not correspond to reality.

The claim also includes a list of media outlets where the retraction and Pashinyan’s apology should be published.

Under the submitted demands, Tsarukyan is seeking 6 million drams in compensation for damages allegedly caused by defamation, 3 million drams for damages resulting from insult, and 310,000 drams to cover court expenses, the state fee already paid, and reasonable legal fees. It was noted that the relevant contract and calculations will be submitted separately.

Gagik Tsarukyan and the Prosperous Armenia Party had previously filed a lawsuit against the Public Television Company of Armenia, seeking a public retraction of information they considered defamatory. In that case, Tsarukyan requested that the broadcaster pay 12 million drams in compensation in addition to publishing a retraction, including 6 million drams to the party and 6 million drams personally to him. The lawsuit also sought an additional 200,000 drams for state fees and reasonable attorney expenses.