Members of the Hayastan opposition alliance in Armenia’s National Assembly issued a firm call on Thursday for law enforcement to investigate Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after he launched a series of threats and verbal assaults against their deputies during a parliamentary session.
The incident, which unfolded on Wednesday, saw Pashinyan lash out uncontrollably after a Hayastan MP raised questions about corruption within his inner circle—specifically, his failure to respond to serious media allegations. Instead of addressing the substance, the prime minister responded with open threats of imprisonment: “You must be the first to go [to prison] and you will go,” he said, followed by a crude outburst: “Sit down, you moron.”
Such language, unprecedented for a sitting Armenian prime minister, was met with immediate and forceful condemnation from Hayastan deputies, who decried it as a blatant abuse of power. On Thursday, they turned to Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan—who has previously served under Pashinyan as a legal aide—demanding a legal review of the prime minister’s inflammatory and coercive remarks.
Vardapetyan repeatedly refused to comment, claiming her office does not engage in “political statements.” But Hayastan MPs were quick to highlight the contradiction in her position.
“You are not the prime minister’s assistant anymore—you are the prosecutor-general,” said MP Aghvan Vartanyan. “And the Criminal Code is clear: ignoring or selectively performing official duties carries legal consequences.”
Hayastan MP Artsvik Minasyan echoed the demand for accountability, characterizing Pashinyan’s behavior as a dangerous incitement to violence and a direct attack on democratic norms. “This was not simply emotional rhetoric,” he stated. “It was a threat—an unlawful and intolerant act that the justice system must evaluate.”
Anna Grigoryan, the MP whose question triggered the prime minister’s meltdown, remained steadfast. “He must answer for his words and actions,” she told reporters, refusing to rule out the filing of a formal complaint. “In any normal country, the head of government would be forced to apologize. But we know the state of governance in Armenia today.”
Grigoryan pointed to a broader pattern of political decay under Pashinyan’s leadership. “If the parliament speaker feels emboldened to spit on a citizen, is it any surprise that the prime minister hurls insults like a street thug?”
Predictably, National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan rushed to defend Pashinyan, claiming that the opposition should instead apologize to the prime minister. He dismissed the incident as the result of “insolent” behavior from the Hayastan faction—a response that, to many, only confirmed the deep erosion of institutional checks and balances under the current regime.
The Hayastan alliance, which has consistently warned against Pashinyan’s authoritarian drift and erosion of democratic standards, sees this latest episode as further proof of the urgent need to restore constitutional order and political accountability in Armenia.
