Strong Armenia member calls criminal case against MP-elect Narek Karapetyan 'political theater'

A lawyer representing the opposition Strong Armenia alliance on Wednesday accused the authorities of using criminal proceedings against MP-elect Narek Karapetyan to prevent him from carrying out his parliamentary duties, calling the case "political theater".

Speaking to reporters outside the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), lawyer Aram Vardevanyan said the commission had taken an unprecedented step by examining the chief prosecutor’s request to authorize Karapetyan’s prosecution after he had already acquired an MP status.

"What we witnessed yesterday is something I had never seen in Armenia," Vardevanyan said. "The CEC had already recognized that the candidate had become a member of parliament, yet it still proceeded to consider a request to authorize criminal prosecution. We have never encountered such a situation before."

The CEC on Monday began reviewing a request from the Prosecutor General's Office seeking authorization to initiate criminal proceedings against Karapetyan, a senior member of the Strong Armenia party.

The opposition Strong Armenia alliance won 29 seats in Armenia's June 7 parliamentary elections.

Vardevanyan drew parallels with a similar case in 2021 involving then-MP Ishkhan Zakaryan. He said that after Armenia's Constitutional Court confirmed the election results, the CEC returned the prosecutor general's request without considering it on the merits.

"The Prosecutor General's Office did not resubmit its request regarding Ishkhan Zakaryan in 2021," Vardevanyan said. "This time, however, the circumstances are different. The same Prosecutor General's Office resubmitted its request after the CEC returned it in June."

According to Vardevanyan, prosecutors refiled the motion on July 13, effectively asking the CEC to reverse its earlier legal position.

"The reasoning behind the motion suggests the Prosecutor General's Office has, to some extent, confused the CEC's role with that of an administrative court or an appellate administrative court," he said.

Vardevanyan argued that instead of immediately returning the request, as it had done previously, the CEC decided to launch substantive proceedings, marking a clear departure from its earlier position.

"This is political absurdity and amounts to political persecution. It is political theater aimed solely at interfering with Narek Karapetyan's parliamentary activity," the lawyer said.

He added that the CEC had taken a different position on the same legal issue than it had just a month earlier, arguing that the shift followed Karapetyan's increased political activity.