Armenian archbishop sues Pashinyan over vote-buying remarks

Armenian Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, seeking a court order requiring the premier to publicly retract statements alleging that opposition parties received votes through bribery.

According to court records on the DataLex online database seen by Panorama.am, the lawsuit was filed on July 6 and assigned to judge Marina Tashchyan.

In the lawsuit, Galstanyan asks the court to order Pashinyan to publicly retract false and defamatory statements that harmed his honor, dignity and reputation.

The claim centers on remarks Pashinyan made during a press briefing following a cabinet meeting on June 11. Pashinyan said that the ruling Civil Contract party garnered "100% organic votes", while the opposition forces received "100% of their votes through vote buying” in the June 7 parliamentary elections, adding, "Without money, no one voted for them, absolutely no one."

Galstanyan is asking the court to require Pashinyan to publish a retraction on the Armenian government's official website, the prime minister's official website, and in a newspaper with a circulation of at least 5,000 copies within five working days of a final court ruling.

The proposed retraction states that Pashinyan's June 11 remarks "do not correspond to reality and constitute defamation" against Galstanyan, identified in the filing as an Armenian citizen who voted for an opposition group in the election.

In addition to the retraction, Galstanyan is seeking symbolic non-pecuniary damages of 49.7 Armenian drams and reimbursement of the state filing fee.