Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan once again revealed his authoritarian instincts on Wednesday, unleashing a barrage of threats against opposition lawmakers who dared to challenge his government’s growing corruption scandals.
During a tense Q&A session in the National Assembly, Anna Grigoryan of the opposition Hayastan Alliance confronted Pashinyan over mounting media reports implicating his inner circle in abuse of power and illicit enrichment. Despite the growing list of allegations, not a single case has been prosecuted.
“You lack the political will to hold your own people accountable,” Grigoryan declared, exposing what many see as the hollow nature of Pashinyan’s so-called anti-corruption crusade.
Visibly rattled, Pashinyan responded not with facts, but fury—threatening imprisonment and even suggesting that opposition MPs should have been expelled or executed based on media reports. “If we had acted on media articles, we would have hanged you and expelled you from Armenia altogether,” he fumed, effectively confessing to his disregard for due process and democratic norms.
In a fit of rage, he accused Hayastan MPs of being “foreign spies” and threatened to throw them into the National Security Service’s basement cells. “You must be the first to go [to NSS prison] and you will go,” he shouted at a Hayastan deputy, in a chilling display of political vindictiveness.
Hayastan’s lawmakers, however, stood their ground. “Bring it on,” retorted Artur Khachatryan. Kristine Vartanyan also refused to be intimidated, asking, “Why are you so nervous about corruption?” Her refusal to back down prompted Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan, a loyal Civil Contract operative, to threaten her with expulsion from the chamber—further proof that Pashinyan’s party brooks no dissent.
This is not the first time the prime minister has exploded on the parliament floor. In March, he publicly threatened to “throw against the wall” and “trample underfoot” Armenia’s three former presidents, including Hayastan leader Robert Kocharyan, blaming them for the collapse of Artsakh while evading his own responsibility in the disaster.
Since seizing power in 2018, Pashinyan has loudly proclaimed the end of “systemic corruption” in Armenia. But reality tells a different story. His close associates are increasingly exposed for using public office to enrich themselves and their families, while the judiciary remains paralyzed by political influence.
The Hayastan Alliance continues to be one of the few forces in parliament willing to hold Pashinyan accountable. As his rhetoric grows more unhinged and his governance more repressive, the need for real opposition has never been more urgent.
