Activist holds press conference after assault by Yerevan district head

Civic activist Artur Chakhoyan addressed the recent violent incident at a press conference on Thursday. Chakhoyan was injured and hospitalized following an assault by Tigran Ter-Margaryan, head of Yerevan’s Nor Nork district and a member of the pro-Western Republic Party, along with several of his staff members last week.

Due to medical complications resulting from the assault, Chakhoyan had been unable to speak to the media since the April 30 incident.

“Since the assault video went viral, I’ve been the target of slander and misinformation,” he stated. “I convened this press conference to set the record straight.”

The activist denied allegations that he had insulted the district head in a video he recorded highlighting substandard construction work at a local kindergarten. He played the video for journalists, saying, “You can clearly hear that I never used any offensive language. There is no mention of the district head in the footage.”

Responding to claims that he misrepresented the kindergarten project as completed and in use by children, Chakhoyan defended the accuracy of his reporting. 

“I’ve made a personal commitment to report only the truth,” he said. “In the video, I clearly state that the project had not yet been officially approved, although it was supposed to be completed. I made no defamatory or offensive remarks. Yet, the district head called and threatened me.”