April 7, 2026
And the reason was Anna Hakobyan’s last reply-post, in which, in essence, she questions the fact that the soldier or regular army serviceman is not a deserter, and hints that the information of those who have no doubts in this matter needs to be updated.
We have informed that in order to obtain fresh data related to the desertion, on April 1 we sent written requests to the RA Investigative Committee, the RA General Prosecutor’s Office and the RA Ministry of Defense. We will publish the answers as soon as we receive them. Maybe Anna Hakobyan is right: what we have is old, it needs updating, even though it is a year old.
And the RA Investigative Committee has already sent a response within 5 days, and through our survey we tried to get the answers to the following questions.
1. During the 44-day war of 2020, between September 27 and November 9, how many cases of desertion were there, i.e., how many cases were initiated against how many people?
2. How many of the deserters in the 44-day war were from the regular army, how many from the reservists, volunteers?
3. How many cases of desertion were there from the National Security Service and the Police during the 44-day war?
4. Where was the volunteer squad of the Investigative Committee during the 44-day period, which part was it sent to?
“In response to your request of April 1, 2026, we inform you that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 and more servicemen in the units of the Main Military Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee, with which a preliminary investigation was carried out and the process of many was resolved in accordance with the law.
Regarding the rest of the mentioned issues, no separate statistics are kept in the RA Investigative Committee.”
In other words, nothing has changed during the last year.
It should be noted that in response to our inquiry on June 9, 2025, the RA Investigative Committee announced that during the 44-day military operations of 2020, about 1,500 criminal proceedings were initiated against 11,000 and more servicemen in the divisions of the Military Investigation Department of the RA Investigative Committee for crimes against military service.
Let us add that in June 2025, when we tried to find out in writing from the RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan whether the number of 11,000 deserters is true, how many of the alleged deserters are from the regular army, and how many are not, he answered. “The issue raised by you is beyond the scope of the RA Ministry of Defense.”
Let’s wait for the next replies of the RA Ministry of Defense and the RA Prosecutor General’s Office on this topic. One thing is clear, essentially, there is no official confirmation of the disgraceful desertion from the regular army.
And the RA Investigative Committee bypassed the question of whether or not to send a volunteer squad to the 44-day war in our written inquiry, and where they participated in combat operations, if they did.
It should be noted that during the war, the RA Investigative Committee message spread that “followed by the call of the RA Prime Minister, he enlisted in order to participate in the sacred work of protecting the motherland 180 volunteers”.
“Four platoons were formed, 2 of which, on October 28, headed by the chairman of the RA Investigative Committee, went on combat duty through the RA Armed Forces General Staff,” the Central Committee detailed.
We can make different assumptions as to why the issue has now been completely or completely ignored in this regard.
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Bring Allen’s verdict, and I will admit again that we have committed a crime. Of these
April 7, 2026
Satik Seyranyan’s guest in “Pressing” program is human rights defender, lawyer Ruben Melikyan is
The main points of the interview are below.
- I have seen our justice system from inside and outside for many years. Much more important is not the state, but the direction of development. From the 90s to 2019-2020 the system has been better every year than the year before. Hard work has been done, but starting from 2019-2020, we are constantly regressing. The current government is an anti-democratic government. If we remember what words Nikol Pashinyan used to describe judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, and what cases they are putting him under now, the last example was the case of Davit Minasyan, I will prove what was said. Those values, whose default guardians were the international structures, do not work today because they are politicized. Nikol Pashinyan is given the green light to be anti-Russian, and everything is forgiven him along the way. In terms of global geopolitics, Nikol Pashinyan is allowed to do everything, including something unheard of, for example, to change the law 2 months before the elections, that is, to change the rules of the game during the game. As if you sit down to play chess, and a minute before turning on the clock, someone says: I’m sorry, but we have changed the rules of the game, we have to play a different way…
- Let me give an example of the 2 cases of “Imnemnim” podcast hosts: 2024. and now. Let’s compare two similar cases. 2024 they were not allowed to enter people’s houses, wearing masks, armed, to conduct searches, they did not enter the media, taking everything, but in 2025 they did it. Until now, computers and many other devices, including those confiscated from the boys’ homes, have not been released.
- The case with the incident that happened during the liturgy in “St. Anna” has a personal and psychological component, because the injustice towards the Minasyan brothers is extreme. I got involved in this case on the 3rd day, because before that I was busy defending another 18-year-old boy, Mikael, who spat on Nikol Pashinyan’s car, not the Prime Minister, but Nikol Pashinyan himself, because he was not performing the Prime Minister’s function that day, but was engaged in concrete propaganda. Spitting is not a good thing, you don’t need to take an example from Alen Simonyan, but we did not accept the crime, because maybe the expression is ugly, but it is not a crime, it cannot qualify as hooliganism. The charge is not certain. Mikael’s words are a disagreement with Nikol Pashinyan’s policy and his behavior due to which we lost a part of our homeland. Bring Allen’s verdict, and not only Michael, but I will admit that we committed a crime. In other words, spitting in a person’s face is not hooliganism, spitting on a car is hooliganism, and let me repeat, at that moment Nikol Pashinyan was not a state symbol, he was not performing the functions of prime minister, but propaganda.
To remind: in another case, this 18-year-old boy spat on Nikol Pashinyan’s car, and when asked why he did it, he said: the Turk sold our fresh lands. That sentence is the basis of the boy’s accusation, the act was described as hooliganism.
- Davit Minasyan’s classmates show a very good example of how to consistently fight for the protection of the rights of friends who are in trouble.
- We got involved in this case with certain stereotypes that it is alleged that Davit Minasyan committed the pre-aggressive action during the liturgy in “St. Anna” church, which is absolutely not the case, and it is also an absolute lie that David’s actions were directed against Nikol Pashinyan. It’s not like that either. But the Nicolaitan Goebbelsian propaganda presented the situation like that for several days. There was nothing to suggest that Nikol Pashinyan would go to that church that day. No one could have known that he would decide to go to that church at that moment. I suppose he decided to enter at that very moment, during the liturgy. David and Michael, no one knew that they would have a “guest”. Therefore, the case investigation’s hypothesis that this was organized is not only contrary to law, but also to common sense. This is the crux of this case.
- That incident in the church happened after Pashinyan left. The preliminary investigation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the court recorded that Nikol Pashinyan carried out political activities in the church. He should be interrogated, we should understand whether he was there in the capacity of a believer, in the church, or politically? If I say yes, I came as part of political activities, the question arises: why did you interfere with the ritual, why did you disturb people? The children were not just in the church, but were participating in the liturgy, as they always did:
- Pashinyan and the bodyguard are already disturbing the children while passing through the dense crowd, they separate the two brothers. Mikael hugs David, holds his back. This also has a medical component. David’s illness is such that he must be constantly under the supervision of a relative in order to provide help if necessary. And when Mikael saw that his brother was not by his side, because Pashinyan and the bodyguard broke through and cut them off, he was worried… it is also in the footage that he was looking for his brother. Nikol Pashinyan passed by him, but Mikael didn’t even react, because he wasn’t interested in him, but was looking for his brother with his eyes… They made it so that the parents had to make the child’s entire medical history public so that they could protect themselves.
- Akhrannik, who committed a crime by hitting Davit, and one day he will answer for that, comes back, instructs him to step aside. What has the right to instruct? Yes, David does not follow the instruction, he says: I will stand here. David had no obligation to step aside. They are rushing him and coming and going. David’s act of putting forth his hand was due to his being hindered by the achrannik. Akhrannik’s blow was not a disruptive blow, because Nikol Pashinyan had already been taken out of the church. It was a punitive blow and it was the instigator who should have been held accountable, not David. Moreover, this crime has no statute of limitations. Their leader is not forever, he will not be one day, and even 1000 years will pass, the time of responsibility will come.
- Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan decided that even the parents do not have the right to see the sick child in the hospital, the mother is forbidden to visit the son. I don’t remember such a strict restriction, even in political matters, being applied, even in the case of adults. I don’t know whose initiative it is, but the signatory is Mnatsakan Martirosyan, therefore, the responsibility is his:
- The boys didn’t do anything, they came to touch them, then imprisoned Davit, sent him to a detention center and hospital. The boys had just gone to mass.
- The Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan, “being a mother who brought up good children”, talks about Davit’s upbringing… Or that crocodile breeder who was evil. As they say, for a person who allegedly received a “bad education”, it is already the third week, his classmates are standing every day, would they?
- My attitude towards HRD Anahit Manasyan’s work is well known. I have stated that he is the worst MP of Armenia. Since today is April 7th and I have a sale for her today, I won’t say much. But there was a sentence in his incomprehensible statement yesterday, he said: I wrote a letter and requested that the possibility of applying an alternative restraining order against Davit Minasyan be discussed.
- Human rights defender is not a bureaucrat, but Anahit Manasyan behaves like a bureaucrat. I mentioned the HRD tool, he went, he said, I am resigning. The strength of HRD is its reputation, if there is no reputation, the work is meaningless. In any case, I have the impression that Anahit Manasyan understands the problem. So much:
- Do we want a humane or an inhumane society? 2022 Armen Grigoryan, who died in the courtroom on July 15, was a righteous man, and staying under righteous blood is a hard thing. I am sure that Mnatsakan Martirosyan would have extended the detention, but he did not manage to do so. Therefore, I cannot take the blame and say that he was guilty of Armen’s death. Armen Grigoryan was detained by another judge named Arusyak Aleksanyan, who later ended up behind bars (of course, not in Armen’s case, but in another case, and was later released). One day, whenever, when the country is freed from the Nicola disaster, I will file a special appeal. Armen should be acquitted:
- The target of the Nicolas politics of these years is our self-esteem, that we should always live with our necks crooked like a lamb. But the response to this incident in “Saint Anna” church was different, people wrote, asked, approached on the street… The information field and all of us should do to keep this case in the center of attention, not to allow Goebbelsian propaganda to be carried out.
Details in the video.
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168: Get oriented. who will bring this “disastrous war”? were you here in person?
April 7, 2026
Nikol Pashinyan’s statement about the need for the CP to obtain a constitutional majority in the National Assembly and scaring people with a “new September war” means that the current government really knows that it has no chance of being re-elected. He expressed such a view 168 TVof Revue on the air of the program political scientist Tevan Poghosyanspeaking about the National Assembly elections to be held in June.
According to the former member of the National Assembly, all external actors are interfering in Armenia’s internal affairs even before the elections have started.
“Before the elections have started, the great powers have already stated their preferences, and these are the same countries that once taught us democracy, which is the opinion of the people. The people’s opinion is: wait patiently, who is asking you to name the candidates? It means that the world has lost everything of democracy, they used to educate us with the vain fairy tales, putting all this aside, we simply understand that we have entered into a wild struggle for power, and the only bearer of power, which is called the people, must have its say,” says Tevan Poghosyan.
According to Poghosyan, if the people will rise up and not allow the intervention of foreign forces, then June 7 will be our election, and if we pay tribute to external pressures: “Oh, Putin said this”, “Trump said this”, “Vance said this”, “Fidan said that” or someone in Europe said something else, then what is the Armenian election?
Putin-Pashinyan April Fool’s Day in Moscow meeting Tevan Poghosyan says: “The world has changed, there is more transparency in diplomacy. today everyone speaks openly like that. Every country advances its interests as best it can. That is how they imagined their interests in Russia, they said. We have heard, we have taken note. But if you look at it from the other side, he also said.
“If Putin won’t call to ask me to meet, I have to call.” So, in his perception, he understood well, he knew where he was going. It means that it does not feel strong, in fact, even those who are acting rely only and only on foreign countries and forces, be it Russia or Europe. Europe was asked to send some “hybrid group”. Armenian atyshniks are the best all over the world, but we invite some people from Europe to give us advice on what is hybrid and what is not. We have fantastic specialists. In fact, the operatives did not rely on the people either. they are looking for a mechanism to maintain their power in external support.”
To the question of “Review”, why did Putin and Pashinyan put the blame for the loss of Artsakh on each other, and who among them was more right in his accusations, the former member of the National Assembly answered: first of all, we are to blame for not being able to keep our land. However, Tevan Poghosyan puts this question aside and pays attention to another question, why the Russian president mentions the Karabakh issue during the meeting with Pashinyan.
“If Russia talks about it, then it had interests there. When America tells you not to talk about Artsakh, then it has interests here too. When Europe says, let’s forget everything, then it is also in their interest. It is the framework of understanding their interests that is necessary to read. If a person did not feel that he lost his interests there, there would not be such a conversation. So he [Putin] considers that there were some previous agreements that you should have acted like this, but you didn’t do it, that’s why I’m accusing you openly about it now. What the President of Russia said that day is the consequence of what he did before, which was revealed that day. I cannot say how many years it is.
For example, in 2021, the same Russia was not against it, they kept the war of 2020 with their teeth, but then that same Russia, without changing people, gives heresy after 5 years. So something happened. Perhaps history will reveal what happened,” Tevan Poghosyan thinks.
To the question of “Review” whether the operatives are anti-Russian or hidden pro-Russian, Poghosyan answered: “They are pro-establishment “кресло”. If necessary, they will become Russian in a day. The fact that you say that I should call and ask for a meeting, why are you surprised that they will tell you whatever you say? Why did you go because something was more important? That something is holding power. Why are you scaring your people with war? A month before that, you said, “it’s over, there’s peace, there won’t be a war.” Who will bring this “catastrophic war”? What does that mean? Who said that it is in person? That you were signing there, were you signing in your own person? Wasn’t it an LLC or a private individual? If it was on behalf of the country, then that peace belongs to the country. The choice is our internal problem. And why do they say: don’t interfere in our internal affairs, the government is formed by the people? Where did all that go? If you signed that document, then there will be peace. Where did this war come from? Orient yourself!’
“Aside from what Russia, America, and Europe said, what have we done?” You told me, as a part of the people, that we are the guarantor of Artsakh. That’s how they came to ask for votes. Was it? And how did they deceive me: the de-occupation of Shushi, the de-occupation of Hadrut, the guarantor of security? Our whole problem is that we meet, we talk about other people’s worries. Where is ours? Deceiving us – nothing? We put this lie aside, we say that we have not seen this, let me think about what they promised and what they did.
Powerful countries always know how to advance their interests, that’s why they are powerful. Let them take care of themselves, we have to live today. If we have decided that it is very good for us, let them deceive us, even more than that, we have reached the historically smallest Armenia from the historical Sea to Sea Armenia, because we have always carried the burdens of others, not our own. Once we went on our own, we were guided, we restored the Motherland a little, in 30 years we fell into the hands of our victory, we decided that we don’t need it,” the interlocutor added.
Tevan Poghosyan notes with pain the current division of the Armenian society, which was sown by the current government, and those “actors” also understand that it is easier to manage in this situation by bringing in the intervention of external forces. “Any nation was able to win only when it relied only on its strength and unity. Unfortunately, our society is divided, and this division has been sown by the perpetrators.
Hybrid war is exactly that, when you see that one Armenian can bribe another Armenian without thinking about anything. This is where our inner caring comes in… We say “dear” to each other, but we have forgotten that word, we have forgotten to bear each other’s pain, love has disappeared from us. The consequence of all this will be that others will take advantage. We live in a region where elements of the third world war are already visible. In any case, our region will no longer be the first, conflicts will continue, but the only resource with which any nation will stand is national unity, which, unfortunately, we do not have. No matter what changes come, if we are going to be divided, we will end up facing the pit of defeat.”
Full interview in the video.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Speaker Phones Russian Counterpart
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian phoned his Russian counterpart Valentina Matvienko on Tuesday three days after warning of Armenia’s possible exits from Russian-led defense and trade blocs.
According to a short readout of the call released by Simonian’s office, he discussed with Matvienko Russian-Armenian “interparliamentary ties” and other issues on the “bilateral agenda.” He also congratulated the speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, on her 77th birthday anniversary, added the statement.
The conversation took place one week after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest visit to Moscow marked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stern warnings to Yerevan. In particular, Putin warned Armenian authorities against barring what he called pro-Russian opposition groups or politicians from running in Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. He also said Yerevan’s moves to eventually join the European Union are “not compatible” with Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Putin noted that Russia remains Armenia’s most important trading partner and supplies natural gas to it at a significant discount.
Simonian, who is a leading member of Pashinian’s ruling Civil Contract party, responded on Saturday by saying that Armenia will withdraw from the EEU and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) if Moscow raises the gas prices or imposes other economic sanctions on the South Caucasus country.
Simonian was criticized on Monday by Konstantin Kosachev, one of Matvienko’s deputies. Kosachev said Yerevan should appreciate Russia’s significance for the Armenian economy instead of “speculating about hypothetical changes in pricing policy.”
Speaking about the Armenian elections scheduled for June 7, Putin clearly singled out Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire controversially prosecuted in Armenia. Karapetian’s opposition movement launched shortly after his arrest last June is expected to be one of Civil Contract’s main election challengers.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the 60-year-old tycoon claimed that Armenia will be plunged into a devastating “economic war” with Russia if Pashinian holds on to power.
“Russia supplies us with cheap gas, welcomes our seasonal workers and buys a significant portion of our agricultural products,” he said. “And if it stops all of that, what answer will you [the Armenian government] give to our people, who will become even poorer?”
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Senior Lawmaker Apologizes For Scandalous Statement
Andranik Kocharian, the controversial chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, on Tuesday apologized for a scandalous statement defending his elder son’s exemption from compulsory military service.
He snapped on Monday at a male journalist who asked him to explain why Levon Kocharian has not served in the Armenian armed forces unlike most of his peers.
“My son is a very talented boy,” Kocharian said. “If you had as much knowledge as he, you wouldn’t serve either.”
The remark sparked an uproar from not opposition and public figures who accused Kocharian of denigrating young men drafted to Armenia’s armed forces. Health Minister Anahit Avanesian added her voice to the criticism. In a social media post, Avanesian said Armenian soldiers are also “worthy and bright.”
Kocharian responded by saying that he did not mean to question their intelligence. He claimed that he only wanted to emphasize just “how much education and scientific activity are valued by Armenian law.”
“I regret that my response has given rise to disagreements and speculation, for which I apologize,” he wrote on Facebook.
Kocharian’s son qualified for his exemption after receiving a postgraduate degree in 2020 only one year after completing his postgraduate studies during which he was eligible for military service deferment. The opposition-linked media outlet Yerevan.today reported at the time that the Armenian Defense Ministry extended the deferment in 2019 on suspicous health grounds.
Earlier this year, another senior pro-government lawmaker, Hripsime Hunanian, declared on the parliament floor that Armenian male students enrolled in foreign universities deserve to avoid military service because Armenia needs “not only soldiers but also smart heads.” Hunanian resigned as chairwoman of the parliament committee on healthcare following a storm of criticism on social media provoked by her statement.
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RFE/RL – Armenian Parliament Approves ‘Anti-Karapetian’ Amendments
- Ruzanna Stepanian
Amid opposition allegations of foul play, Armenia’s ruling party hastily pushed through the parliament on Tuesday legislation that banned billionaire Samvel Karapetian from giving his name to his alliance expected to be one of the main contenders in upcoming parliamentary elections.
The National Assembly approved relevant amendments to the Armenian Election Code in the first reading only several hours after they were made public by senior deputies representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party. The most important of them stipulates that party alliances running in national or local elections cannot be named after persons.
The amendments were briefly debated under a so-called “urgent procedure” allowing their full passage within just 24 hours. The debate came one week after Karapetian’s Strong Armenia party and two other, little-known opposition parties officially set up an alliance for the elections slated for June 7. They named it Strong Armenia With Samvel Karapetian.
Civil Contract parliamentarians denied any connection between that development and the last-minute change to the Election Code. Their opposition colleagues dismissed those assurances.
Meanwhile, Strong Armenia leaders and activists picketed the parliament building in Yerevan to protest against what they denounced as a government attempt to make it harder for their opposition force to defeat Civil Contract in the elections. Most opinion polls cited by Armenian media in recent weeks suggest that Karapetian and his political team will be the ruling party’s number one challenger.
“This legislation is clearly directed at our political force,” Strong Armenia’s Gohar Meloyan told reporters during the protest.
Another senior party figure, Aram Vartevanian, claimed that the Election Code amendments underline Pashinian’s fears of losing powers. Narek Karapetian, the tycoon’s nephew coordinating Strong Armennia’s activities, echoed that claim in a live Facebook broadcast.
“[Pashinian] is afraid of Samvel Karapetian’s words and name, and is evening fighting against his pictures,” he said.
Karapetian, who has mainly lived in Russia since the early 1990s, decided to enter politics shortly after being arrested in Yerevan last June following his strong criticism of Pashinian’s controversial drive to oust Catholicos Garegin II. The 60-year-old tycoon, who was moved to house arrest in December, rejects all accusations levelled against him as politically motivated.
Karapetian’s team was until now primarily concerned that the Armenian authorities will not allow it to participate in the forthcoming elections. Pashinian’s administration raised those concerns when it asked the European Union late last year to deploy a “hybrid rapid response team” to Armenia after implicitly alleging Russian “hybrid” threats to the integrity of the electoral process. The EU formally agreed to that last month.
“They do petty mischief, they are car door breakers. Pashinyan told us
April 7, 2026
An extraordinary session is underway in the National Assembly on the initiative of the CP, there are 4 issues on the agenda, one of which concerns the parties.
According to the project presented by the CP, it is proposed that the name of the alliance of parties cannot include personal names, names of state and local self-government bodies, or confusingly similar names and their shapes. The name of the alliance of parties may not contain words or other expressions of an offensive or defamatory nature.
Public-politician Mikael Nahapetyan by definition, the government in Armenia adapts the law to itself.
“The legislation is written based on political expediency, they change the rules of the game just 2 months before the elections. In today’s special session of the National Assembly, the members of the CP protested against us, “I am against everyone”. That’s why I don’t rule out that at some point the law will be regulated in such a way that we will not be allowed to participate in the elections or they will set a precondition for name change. The rules of the game are adjusted to the wishes of the ruling party.” 168.amMikayel Nahapetyan said in a conversation with
According to him, the government will not have the opportunity to create problems for others only with names, because political associations have the opportunity to rebrand their names.
“We have discussed some things in this context, at the moment it is not relevant, because the party is already registered. Therefore, I don’t see the need to update the scenarios, to think, we have done that “homework” in the past about what we will do in which case.
Excluding personal names in the name of the parties is a petty mischief, they just saw that the other party has political branding, they are planning, they want to make it so that a need for rebranding arises. There is no serious, structural obstacle here. I repeat, they are doing petty mischief, they could have gone, torn or scratched the type on their competitor’s bus, or punctured the wheel so that they could not drive in the morning. Now, they do such acts not by trained hooligans, but by members of the National Assembly, but the essence does not change from this, one thing is that they are car door breakers,” Mikayel Nahapetyan added.
As for Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on the eve of the elections, that if “KP does not become the government, then there will be a war”, Mikayel Nahapetyan said that this is blackmail against the Armenian people.
“Nikol Pashinyan conveys Aliyev’s ultimatum to us, that we must have a leader, and that leader is Nikol Pashinyan. Moreover, this is a very direct ultimatum that what Ilham Aliyev wants should be done, because if we go to the field of comments, what he means, then I can say that, apart from him, there is Hayk Marutyan, who welcomed the August 8 announcement on August 9.
That person does not want to renegotiate any point in the given contract, he agrees with everything. Now, if Hayk Marutyan is elected, will there be a war, if not, then Nikol Pashinyan is a liar, if so, then this does not mean anything other than that he is an agent of Azerbaijan. This is not a question of political course, because if it was a question of political course, I say Hayk Marutyan welcomed the statement of August 8,” emphasized Mikayel Nahapetyan.
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Davit can’t look at the light at all, they continue to bother him
April 7, 2026
The health condition of 18-year-old Davit Minasyan, who was detained for 2 months and is now in the hospital after the provocation with the participation of Nikol Pashinyan in St. Anna Church on March 29, continues to be a concern.
Davit Minasyan’s lawyer Varduhi Elbakan he said, he saw Davit a few minutes ago, he continues to be bothered by headaches and dizziness, the doctors injected painkillers for the pains.
“David can’t look at the light at all, for a moment a light fell on his face, he quickly closed his eyes. We always go to David, but we try not to make him talk too much so that he doesn’t spend extra energy talking. The other lawyer, Lusine Martirosyan, and I are going to find out if he ate something or not. No matter how much the parents try to feed him, he does not eat. Yesterday Lusine and I convinced him to eat a little.” of 168.am Varduhi Elbakyan said in a conversation with
Varduhi Elbakyan replied to the question, “Does Davit say anything about this situation, that he does not, neither Davit nor the lawyers do.”
“We also have a psychological problem here, we approach it very delicately in this matter. Imagine, at the age of 18: the investigation department, the criminal department, the detention center for the arrested, then the isolation cell, the hospital, then again the isolation cell, again the isolation cell. Can you imagine that David’s life changed 360 degrees in 6 days? I don’t know what happened to this child,” added Varduhi Elbakyan.
The lawyer also conveyed that at the moment only his lawyers can see Davit.
“Yesterday evening, Arsen Babayan and Ruben Melikyan visited, after that Armen Melkonyan and I, well, Lusine and I probably visit 6-7 times during the day. The meetings of all of us probably last 10 minutes, except for Ruben Melikyan, because they have spiritual conversations, which I can’t do,” stressed the lawyer.
Regarding the question, what do the doctors say about Davit’s health condition, is the condition on the way to stabilization, the lawyer answered that they have not talked to the doctors yet, although the doctors are there every day.
“We do not ask the doctors this question, of course, we have officially made an inquiry, we are afraid to disturb them. As of now, official information has not been provided to us,” Varduhi Elbakyan emphasized.
It should be noted that Davit Minasyan was detained on April 1 for a period of 2 months.
Let’s remind that on March 29, when there was a service in Saint Anna Church, Nikol Pashinyan decided to enter the church with his teammates and security guards, and his security guards tried to open the way by pushing the gathered people. At that time, David and his brother Michael were participating in the liturgy in the church and were urged not to push each other. At that time, a stampede started, one of Nikol Pashinyan’s security guards punched David. After the incident, 2 brothers were arrested, at the moment Mikael is free as an accused, he was released in exchange for a bail of 5 million drams and a signature not to be absent.
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Bus drivers were strictly instructed NOT to open
April 7, 2026
There cannot be a situation where we pay all employees, drivers normally for all overtime, and they do not support the process of collecting transport fees in any way. This was announced yesterday by the Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan, accusing the drivers of the serious failure of under-collection of fares as a result of another unsuccessful “reform” – the increase of transport tariffs.
The mayor of the minority is right: people don’t pay in full, they don’t pay without noise, especially since they don’t understand why they have to pay for expensive transport that is overloaded in the morning and in the evening, but the responsibility for another failure should be placed on someone in one way or another, and that person is the city transport drivers today.
Already today they closed the doors in the middle of the buses and asked the passengers to get up through the front door and pay the fare.
“Dear people, understand that we are not to blame, we have a strict order from yesterday,” the drivers said in response to passengers’ complaints.
At some point, however, everything came back to normal, because in addition to the boarders, there are also boarders who have to get off from the middle or last doors, and all the same, there were boarders from the middle door, and the one who didn’t pay didn’t pay, also commenting on why.
The irony of the mayor’s absurd statement yesterday is that the payment terminals are not only placed at the beginning of the buses, but also in the middle, and in the case of large buses, also at the end. Therefore, of course, it is planned that the passenger can get up and pay from other doors as well.
But people don’t pay and they do the right thing, because they don’t want to go crammed themselves, only after missing a few buses, and the mayor gives tens of millions of gratuities to his own people at their expense.
On the other hand, drivers’ salary is not negotiable. They receive a fixed salary, which is not high at all in terms of their inhuman workload and responsibility, and it is unclear why the driver should also be a supervisor, becoming a bad person and being targeted by irritated passengers. Or is there a clause in the drivers’ employment contracts that they must also collect or be responsible for fares… Of course not.
So, this will also burst, as all CP bubbles burst.
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If the price of gas triples, our energy system will collapse. Atom Marg
April 7, 2026
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk warned on the air of Russian Channel One that in case of Armenia’s accession to the European Union, Armenia will not have air communication with Russia. This is not all. The Russian official also noted that Armenia is very close to the point after which Russia will have to build economic relations with Yerevan in a different way.
The RA authorities have announced that they aim to join the European Union.
On April 1, during the meeting held in the Kremlin with RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that it is not possible to be a member of both EAEU and EU at the same time.
Pashinyan answered: “What we are doing and our agenda are compatible at the moment, and as long as it is possible to combine those two agendas, we will combine them. When it is not possible and a decision must be made, I am sure that the citizens of Armenia will make a decision.”
This choice between the EU and EAEU, which was proposed to the authorities during and after Pashinyan’s last visit to Moscow, is considered by various circles as an attempt at pressure.
Why and what was actually said on the topic? 168․am-answered the questions economist Atom Margaryan.
“The EU and EAEU are different integration entities, with their institutions, their formats, their regulations, their customs territory and, of course, taking into account the geopolitical realities, the Russian-Ukrainian war, etc., they are opposites.
What the Russian side says has, of course, objective grounds. On the other hand, there is also a question of orientation. If you are in the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, you use that privileged status, you cannot take the road towards the EU.
But the problem is that Russian assets, investments, gas supply, the Russian market have no direct alternative for us, at least for the moment, at least in the visible horizon,” the economist added.
In this context, he referred to the bill on the initiation of the EU membership process, fully adopted by the National Assembly on March 26.
“The law on membership of the European Union, which was adopted, is just nonsense without consultations, without broad discussions, without, ultimately, a referendum,” he remarked.
Atom Margaryan drew attention especially to the issue of energy carriers, reminding Putin’s records regarding the gas tariff.
“If the price of gas triples, it means that our energy system will collapse. Those branches that are sitting on Russian gas will also collapse. There are different estimates of inflation. it can reach up to 20-25%. All livelihood sectors that depend on transport and energy sources will simply become uncompetitive. This is a very simple, elementary calculation.
The other is logistics. announced that if you join the European Union, air traffic will be stopped, this will also lead to collapse.
Next are the labor markets. there are 700,000-800,000 Armenian workers who are in the Russian Federation either with RA citizenship or with dual citizenship. Those people can simply be told to take their things and go to their homeland. what should they do?
These are in addition to the private transfers of 3-4 billion dollars every year, which enter Armenia from the Russian Federation,” explained Atom Margaryan.
The economist responded to the observation that the RA authorities mentioned about combining. “But what does it mean to combine? you can work with 3rd countries, like, let’s say, they work with other countries like China and India, but being a member of an integration organization means that the customs border is simply closed.
It is one thing to work with the European Union and quite another to be part of the EU, and the tariff and non-tariff regulations that operate within the borders of the Eurasian Economic Union, and Armenia, as a member of it, benefits from it, will cease to exist in a day.
But it will take decades to reach European Union standards, it is not easy to get there. The same Moldova, Ukraine – what is their condition, they are candidates for that membership? So, it is not saying that, and it is simply impossible from the point of view of legal regulations.”
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