Analyst: Pashinyan's government preparing to 'seize power again'

Armenian political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan has accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of preparing to “seize power once again”, pointing to persecutions of its critics ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.

Speaking to reporters outside the Anti-Corruption Court, where former President Serzh Sargsyan’s closed-door trial was underway, Melik-Shahnazaryan said fabricated cases were used to weaken opposition figures who could consolidate public dissent.

He argued that the prosecutions of Sargsyan and others, including Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, lacked legal grounds and were politically motivated.

“The courts are not administering justice but carrying out political orders,” Melik-Shahnazaryan added.