Court hands guilty verdict to Pashinyan critic

An Armenian court has found Aram Harutyunyan guilty of publicly insulting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, his lawyer Sergey Harutyunyan reported on Saturday.

The verdict comes after four years of legal proceedings in the case, the lawyer said. Harutyunyan had been charged with publicly delivering a “grave insult” to the dignity of the person holding the prime minister's office.

Two previous rulings in the same case had acquitted him, but prosecutors appealed both decisions, leading to the latest verdict.

Sergey Harutyunyan, who is the defendant’s son, said Aram Harutyunyan considers it “an honor to be found guilty for such an act.”