Ex-ombudsman accuses Pashinyan undermining Armenia's sovereignty

Former Armenian ombudsman Arman Tatoyan on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of advancing Azerbaijan’s interests and undermining Armenia’s sovereignty.

Tatoyan, head of the Wings of Unity political initiative, told a news conference it was “obvious” who Azerbaijan would back as Armenia’s prime minister.

“I mean Nikol Pashinyan,” Tatoyan said. “Moreover, Azerbaijan does not even hide that for it, the number one supported candidate is Nikol Pashinyan.”

Tatoyan also voiced support for businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Strong Armenia party. He described Karapetyan as a prominent benefactor who had made significant contributions to Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Karapetyan is currently under house arrest. Tatoyan said he believed the legal measures against him involved “gross violations of rights” and were intended to prevent him from engaging in political activity.

“I have said that he is simply being held as a political hostage to prevent him from carrying out specific activities,” Tatoyan said.

Karapetyan’s party is seeking constitutional changes that would allow him to run for prime minister, an initiative Tatoyan said he viewed critically from a legal standpoint.

“As a lawyer, I see a problem when it is proposed to amend the constitution for one person,” he said. “For years, the root of Armenia’s problems has been that each leader has tried to tailor the constitution to suit themselves. For me, this is unacceptable.”