Armenian opposition candidate sues Investigative Committee for defamation

Narek Karapetyan, who headed the Strong Armenia alliance in the June 7 parliamentary elections, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Armenia’s Investigative Committee, demanding a public retraction and symbolic damages of one dram.

Court filings show the case was submitted on May 20 and later assigned to judge Tigran Grigoryan. Karapetyan argues the agency falsely claimed he concealed foreign citizenship, which would have disqualified him from holding office. He is asking the court to order the Investigative Committee to publish a correction and apology on its official website, Facebook, and Telegram accounts, with the statement remaining visible for at least one month.

The proposed text would acknowledge the committee’s earlier statement as “false, defamatory and unfounded” and include a formal apology. Karapetyan also seeks reimbursement of court fees and attorney costs.