A video blogger sharply critical of Yerevan’s municipal leadership said Tuesday that the Armenian military has moved to draft him for short-term reserve service as a form of political pressure ahead of the June 7 parliamentary elections.
Artur Chakhoyan said he was orally summoned to a military recruitment office in Yerevan and told he had been included in an upcoming 25-day call-up of reservists. He stressed that he is not opposed to serving, noting that he volunteered for service in Artsakh when he turned 18, but argued that the current move is being used to “silence” him during an election period.
Chakhoyan claimed recruitment officials avoided issuing a written summons because, he said, they know he cannot be mobilized under Armenian law while he is being prosecuted in two criminal cases connected to his civic activities. According to him, the aim was to intimidate him into backing down—by creating pressure without leaving formal paperwork.
The Defense Ministry did not comment publicly on the allegation. Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan also did not address the matter when an opposition lawmaker raised it during a parliamentary defense and security committee meeting. Committee chairman Andranik Kocharyan rejected claims of political motivation.
The controversy revives earlier accusations that reserve call-ups have been used against activists. Kocharyan publicly urged military officials in 2022 to draft opposition demonstrators, and reports at the time said dozens of men were called up in the following weeks.
Chakhoyan has gained a following for confrontational videos accusing the Yerevan municipality of corruption and mismanagement. In a recent Facebook post, he highlighted what he described as substandard tiling work on the main alley of the Yerablur military cemetery.
He has also been involved in multiple violent incidents. In April 2025, he was beaten in public by then–Nor Nork district chief Tigran Ter-Margaryan and other local officials after attempting to enter the district administration building. Ter-Margaryan was later charged with assault and resigned weeks afterward. Investigators also filed hooliganism charges against Chakhoyan. Separately, Chakhoyan says he was attacked by three men outside his home in 2023.
