MP visits Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan in prison, calls for his release

Lilit Nahapetian
Panorama, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

Opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan has visited Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the Holy Struggle movement, at the Yerevan-Kentron Penitentiary.

“Archbishop Bagrat has been detained for approximately nine months, and the case brought against him and the movement’s activists has long since fallen apart,” he wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“From the outset, this case was built on falsifications, defamation and political directives, and it has no legal basis or prospect of success.

“Freedom to Archbishop Bagrat and all others facing political persecution,” Abrahamyan added.

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Opposition MP warns of growing information blockade on Armenian prisoners in A

Greg Madatian
Panorama, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

Opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan on Monday criticized the Armenian government for failing to take meaningful steps to counter an information blockade surrounding Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

Writing on Facebook, Abrahamyan said public attention to the issue had declined significantly following politically motivated rulings by Azerbaijani courts against Armenian prisoners. He added that earlier coverage in Azerbaijani media, though selective and heavily distorted, had at least provided fragments of information through images, videos and brief statements attributed to detainees.

According to Abrahamyan, the situation has further deteriorated after the closure of the Baku office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which played a key role in monitoring prisoners and relaying information.

“The information blockade regarding Armenians held in Azerbaijan is now becoming total,” he said, criticizing the Armenian authorities for failing to prioritize the issue.

Abrahamyan called for increased international attention and reiterated demands for the release of all Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

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Mirzoyan: Armenia, Turkey discuss educational programs

Tambiyan Samvel
Panorama, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

Armenia and Turkey are considering introducing reciprocal scholarships for students as part of what Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan described as a “dynamic, positive and promising” dialogue between the two countries.

Speaking in the parliament on Monday, Mirzoyan said practical cooperation is already under way, including efforts to reopen the Gyumri-Kars railway. A joint working group has held two meetings and conducted on-site inspections on both sides of the border.

He added that discussions have also expanded to cultural cooperation, including the possible joint restoration of historic sites such as Ani.

“Even the possibility of establishing scholarships for students in each other’s universities is being discussed,” Mirzoyan said.

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Armenian FM says Azerbaijan not demanding constitutional change but links it t

Hunanian Jack
Panorama, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Monday that Azerbaijan is not formally demanding changes to Armenia’s constitution, but has indicated it will not sign a peace agreement while certain provisions remain in place.

Speaking at a parliamentary committee session, Mirzoyan said Yerevan has repeatedly stated, both publicly and in closed-door talks, that its constitution includes no territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan says this is Armenia’s internal matter and not subject to negotiations,” Mirzoyan said. “But they also make clear that as long as these constitutional formulations exist, they are not prepared to sign [a peace treaty].”

He said Armenia takes note of this position but considers it regrettable, adding that the two sides’ views diverge on the issue and have prevented agreement.

Mirzoyan emphasized that constitutional changes have not been part of Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. He added that discussions about adopting a new constitution or amendments have been on Armenia’s domestic agenda since 2018.

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The Archbishop has been in prison for about 9 months, and the case against him

Emil Lazarian
Aysor, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

“I met with the leader of the ‘Holy Movement,’ Bagrat Galstanyan, at the Yerevan-Kentron Penitentiary,” wrote MP Tigran Abrahamyan.

“The Archbishop has been in prison for about nine months, and the case against him and the movement’s activists has long since collapsed. It could not have been otherwise. From the very beginning, the case was built on forgeries, slander, and political dictation. It has no prospects and cannot have any.

Freedom for Archbishop Bagrat and all those subjected to political persecution.”

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Attention to Armenian POWs has diminished: Tigran Abrahamyan

Kanayan Tamar
Aysor, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

After political verdicts were handed down against Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijani courts, public attention to this issue has significantly declined, wrote National Assembly deputy Tigran Abrahamyan.

“Although Azerbaijani media outlets presented the events selectively and with significant distortions, the photos, videos, and fragmentary statements of Armenian POWs still conveyed certain information.

With the closure of the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baku, the information blockade surrounding Armenians held in Azerbaijan has become even more complete.

The Armenian authorities are taking no steps to break this information blockade, as their agenda and priorities lie in an entirely different sphere.

Freedom to all Armenians held in prisons in Baku,” he noted.

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Constitutional amendments is not a subject of negotiations between Armenia and

Kalantarian Kevo
Aysor, Armenia
Mar 23 2026

Issues related to amending the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia have not been and are not being discussed in negotiations with Azerbaijan, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated during a session of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.

“This is not a subject or topic of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have been speaking about the need to adopt a new Constitution or introduce constitutional amendments in Armenia almost immediately after the 2018 revolution. This is part of our agenda,” Mirzoyan said.

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Film Review | Thus Spoke the Wind — an Armenian drama that favours art over s

Boshkezenian Garik
OC Media
Mar 23 2026
by Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning

★★☆☆☆

Russian director Maria Rigel’s latest film is a disappointingly slow-moving look at Armenian society that is more incomprehensible than enlightening.

Moscow-native Maria Rigel (who has previously been known as Mariya Batova) arrived in Armenia in 2022, following her country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Having first landed in a rural village outside Yerevan, she was inspired ‘by the local culture, people, and nature’ to create a feature film, noting in a 2025 interview with Klassiki that ‘from my first days in Armenia, I had the strange feeling that I had known this place for a long time. The psychology of local people also feels familiar since it’s part of the post-Soviet space’.

Ostensibly inspired by the legendary Caucasian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, as well as similarly famed Russian filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov, Rigel attempts to create a distinguished drama examining gender roles and familial ties. Unfortunately, the film falls short of these aims, instead acting as an inscrutable example of art over substance.

Thus Spoke the Wind is segmented into three sections, each opening with a scene shot through the night-vision lens of a hunting rifle.

The first of these shots introduces Hayk (Albert Babajanyan), a quiet young boy who is bullied by his peers in an attempt to toughen him up into a real Armenian man. While perhaps not the happiest life, it seems he and his aunt Narine (Lusine Avanesyan), the manager of a local lavash factory, have carved out a space for themselves. Any sense of equilibrium is shaken, however, when Narine’s sister and Hayk’s real mother Anahit (Annika Abrahamyan) returns to the village

Arriving in the middle of the night with vibrant red hair, and having left her son years before, it is clear Anahit does not fit the stereotype of a traditional, good Armenian woman. Soon enough, the village begins to turn on her — the local boys, with Hayk in the backseat, chase Anahit down a country road; workers at the lavash factory, where Anahit now works, accuse her of stealing their belongings; a mother shame Narine for not stopping Anahit from having sexual relations with her son.

Things eventually reach a climax between the sisters, leading to an opaque ending hinting at violence and the secrets kept among family members. Yet no true conclusion ever comes.

Indeed, much of what happens throughout the film is not visible to the audience, an apparent call back to one of Hayk’s first lines: ‘They say it can be invisible. Things that can’t be seen by human eyes’. Arguments happen off-screen, with only the sounds of smashing glass or insulting words thrown back and forth hinting at the possibility of violence. Characters jump from one location to another, time passing in waves with no clarity whether scenes are hours or days apart, each scene structured as a lingering tracking shot of a specific character.

Though the film’s runtime is only 90 minutes, these film-making choices create the feeling of a much longer work, one that drains the viewer rather than invigorates them.

Indeed, the most memorable and exciting aspect of Thus Spoke the Wind is the score by American composer Steve Brand. The haunting composition, featuring traditional Armenian wind instruments, lingers in the mind long after the film’s conclusion.

While touching upon a number of  important aspects within Armenian society — from a woman’s right to her own sexuality and the effects of toxic masculinity — the film spends too much time avoiding any actual depth over surface-level examples, creating a piece muddled patchwork of a film that is more incomprehensible than enlightening.

Film details: Thus Spoke the Wind (2025), directed by Maria Rigel. The film is currently available to stream on Klassiki.

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Pashinyan calls Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian refugees ‘runaways’ in argument on m

Vanyan Gary
OC Media
Mar 23 2026
by Arshaluys Barseghyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has faced backlash after calling Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians ‘runaways’ during an argument with a refugee from the region on Sunday. After initially denying that he had used the insult, he later apologised the same evening.

The argument, which was caught on video and spread widely across social media, took place on the metro while Pashinyan was conducting his Civil Contract ‘inter-party campaign’ in Yerevan. While on the campaign trail, Pashinyan has traveled across Armenia to meet constituents. As part of his travels, Pashinyan has been gifting pins with the shape of Armenia’s internationally recognised borders. The ‘Real Armenia’ narrative — meaning that Armenians must accept modern Armenia within its current borders — has been a key part of Pashinyan’s political messaging.

The heated discussion lasted around five minutes and began after Pashinyan asked if he could give a pin to a boy with his mother, which they refused.

The woman, later identified as Armine Mosiyan, was a refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh. In her rejection of the gift, Mosiyan told Pashinyan that they have a ‘different map’.

Although Pashinyan initially appeared to accept the disagreement, after a few seconds he returned to the woman, pointing the pin again and telling her to take into account that her son ‘will live within this map’.

He also added they would not allow their ideology, appearing to refer to conceptualisations of Armenia beyond its internationally recognised borders. ‘You won’t allow us to live in our Artsakh? You have already not allowed [us to live there], but you can’t deprive us from our hope to live in our Artsakh, the return and the rest’, Mosiyan said.

The woman asked Pashinyan to stop arguing with her, explaining that they were on their way to a chess tournament, and otherwise would have left the car upon seeing Pashinyan enter. However, Pashinyan said that because he had listened to her arguments, she was obliged to listen to him.

‘We have done everything so that you would live in Artsakh, in [Nagorno-Karabakh]. In 2023, it was you who were accusing me that I had closed the borders so that people would not come from Karabakh to Armenia, and you were demanding that I open the borders and you were saying that I had deliberately closed them so that the people would not leave Karabakh. Now you come here and say, “Oh, but we wanted to return” ’, Pashinyan said.

In September 2023, after Azerbaijan’s final offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent surrender of the authorities in the region, Pashinyan controversially stated that the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh was ‘not under direct threat’, despite calls for the Armenian government to help facilitate evacuations to Armenia.

During the argument on Sunday, Pashinyan angrily told Mosiyan that Yerevan had spent ‘billions […] so that you would stay there, so why didn’t you stay there?’

After Mosiyan told him not to wag his finger at her and to lower his voice, Pashinyan responded: ‘Then, next time, do not try to say, you runaways, don’t try to say that I gave away Karabakh’.

Pashinyan’s remarks fueled public outcry online, in what many perceived as a continuation of his government’s rhetoric targeting Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. Criticism became harsher after social media users learned that Mosiyan’s father, Meruzhan Mosiyan, had served as a field commander and been killed in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Pashinyan accused of hate speech towards Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians

As criticism spread on Facebook later that day, Pashinyan denied using the word ‘runaways’ during a press briefing.

‘No, I could not have said such a thing. If it was perceived that way, it was perceived incorrectly. If I said something the wrong way, I apologise’, Pashinyan said.

However, amid growing criticism online, he later apologised to Mosiyan and her son for ‘for [his] emotions’ that evening while summing up the day with members of his Civil Contract party.

He acknowledged that he had ‘said something not in the [right] way, I didn’t say it with the right gesticulation, I didn’t say it with the right tone, I didn’t say it with the right facial _expression_, somewhere I also did not treat the content correctly’.

In the same video, Pashinyan confessed that he was still unable to address issues regarding ‘the events of 2023 without emotions,’ assessing it as a ‘big flaw’.

The last bus out of Nagorno-Karabakh

He further expressed hope and readiness to meet with Mosiyan again and ‘speak calmly’, foreseeing that his offer would be rejected, and ‘then [Mosiyan]might say two harsh words afterward — I accept that humbly’.

In a separate Facebook post, he again invited Mosiyan to meet with him at the government building or another place of her choosing to personally offer his apology.

On Sunday, the Human Rights Defender’s Office issued a statement underscoring the ‘need to ensure sensitivity towards forcibly displaced persons and refugees’. The statement did not include any condemnation of Pashinyan’s actions.

For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.


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‘Stigmatising refugees is unacceptable’: Pashinyan refers to Karabakh Armenian

Emil Lazarian
JAM News
Mar 23 2026
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

The incident, which took place in the metro and involved Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a Karabakh Armenian woman with a child, has sparked debate among experts and the wider Armenian public. The exchange escalated into a heated argument, during which Pashinyan said: “Do not dare, you fleeing people, to claim that I surrendered Karabakh.”

Shortly afterwards, Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan called on senior officials to show sensitivity towards refugees and respect their rights. However, her statement did not mention the prime minister or the specific incident.

Some political analysts said the prime minister was legitimising negative rhetoric towards refugees and stigmatising them for political purposes.

Following the incident, Pashinyan publicly apologised to the woman twice and offered to meet her again. However, discussions on social media continued even after his apology. Political commentator Hakob Badalyan described the proposal for a new meeting as a political tactic.

“If the woman accepts the offer to meet, the propaganda machine will naturally start working in Pashinyan’s favour. If she declines, it will give the propaganda apparatus a ‘legitimate pretext’ for a new wave of attacks, claiming that Pashinyan apologised while the woman acted rudely,” he said.

Full details of the incident, the prime minister’s apology, the ombudsman’s statement, and reactions.

  • ‘Changing Armenia’s constitution is our decision, not others’,’ Pashinyan says in briefing
  • ‘This is not peace, but defeatism’: a dissenting view on Armenia’s security strategy
  • Poll: Will Armenia’s ruling party win June election?

The argument began when Pashinyan offered to give the child a pin badge featuring a map of Armenia.

For several weeks, the prime minister and his team have been travelling to different regions at weekends, holding what they describe as an “intra-party campaign”. This Sunday, they took to the metro and spoke with residents of the capital.

In recent weeks, Pashinyan has been wearing a badge depicting the map of Armenia and handing out similar ones to passers-by. He offered one to the boy in the metro, but his mother replied:

“We are from Artsakh. We have a different map,” she said, referring to a version that includes the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The prime minister insisted: “Your son will live within the borders shown on this map.”

The woman objected: “You cannot forbid us from hoping to return to Artsakh.”

Pashinyan then raised his voice and responded:

“We spent billions earned by the citizens of Armenia so that you could remain there. Why did you not stay? […]

Do not speak so dismissively about this map. Next time, you fleeing people, do not dare to claim that I surrendered Karabakh.”

Pashinyan admitted he had ‘said something wrong’

The same day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued an apology — twice.

“I admit that I said something wrong. I spoke in the wrong tone, and my facial _expression_ was inappropriate. In some sense, I also expressed the wrong message. But this remains one of the most emotional issues for me. I apologise to everyone,” he said.

Later, Pashinyan commented on the incident in a post on his Facebook page, inviting Armine Mosiyan and her son to the government building. He said he was ready to apologise to her publicly, live on air.

“If visiting the government is not acceptable for her, I am ready to do the same in the metro at a time convenient for her — again live. I am also ready to meet at her place of residence or work.”

Ombudsman’s statement

“Communication with forcibly displaced persons and refugees, as well as discussions concerning their rights, must be conducted with due sensitivity, taking into account the vulnerability of this group,” the Human Rights Defender said.

Anahit Manasyan added that this is required by international legal standards. She called on “public officials, as well as all political and public figures” to demonstrate sensitivity towards displaced persons and refugees and issues related to their rights.

“It is necessary to ensure that public discourse does not trigger or exacerbate their vulnerability, but instead contributes to fostering and strengthening an atmosphere of solidarity, inclusiveness and mutual respect.”

Commentaries

Nikol Pashinyan was criticised not only for stigmatising Karabakh refugees. Public reaction was also triggered by the fact that he raised his voice at a mother in the presence of a minor. Political analysts also began discussing the possible impact of the incident on the outcome of the parliamentary elections scheduled for June.

Below are some of the views most widely discussed on social media.

Political analyst Tigran Grigoryan said:

“I believe that analysing such behaviour requires the involvement of an interdisciplinary group of professionals. For our part, we can note the following:

  • As expected, the number of attacks on refugees at the highest level will sharply increase during the pre-election period.
  • Such behaviour will significantly intensify hate rhetoric against refugees at the everyday level.

If the country’s prime minister legitimises and uses the most offensive language towards refugees for political purposes, why would his supporters not repeat it?”»

Human rights defender Zarui Hovhannisyan pointed to another aspect:

“When a woman’s voice is effectively drowned out by a man’s voice, aggressive gestures and accusations, this constitutes psychological pressure. When it comes from a public official who sets an example for thousands of people, it becomes an even more dangerous precedent. It is doubly unacceptable when a mother is shouted at in the presence of her child.

The child, who was simply sitting next to his mother, became a witness to aggressive behaviour by a representative of the authorities. This goes beyond a political or personal dispute and enters the sphere of children’s rights.

A safe environment for a child implies not only physical but also psychological protection. When a mother is shouted at in his presence, creating a tense and frightening situation, it violates the child’s fundamental right to protection from violence and degrading treatment.

As someone working in the field of women’s rights, I assess such behaviour as a case containing elements of gender-based psychological violence. At the same time, the presence of a child requires an assessment from the perspective of child protection.

Holding public office does not grant the right to shout, accuse or humiliate — especially those who have already suffered the severe consequences of war and forced displacement.”

Political analyst Robert Gevondyan said:

“The likelihood of the ruling party securing a constitutional majority (two-thirds) in the elections is крайне low. The most probable scenario is a victory for Civil Contract and the formation of a government, but with a narrow margin.

In essence, Pashinyan is signalling that the party will achieve a constitutional majority in an attempt to influence the political atmosphere and offset situations that have generated public backlash and negatively affected ratings. These primarily include the dismissal of the director of the Genocide Museum and the incident in the metro. In both cases, the problems could have been avoided if Pashinyan had restrained his emotions and resisted the urge to comment and engage in confrontation.

There is also worse news — there are still two and a half months until the elections. Both orchestrated provocations and similar spontaneous incidents are likely to increase, and there will be little opportunity to prevent them.

Therefore, if Pashinyan fails to control his emotions and remain silent in certain situations, he may not only fall short of securing a constitutional majority, but could even create an opening for Armenia to turn into a Russian “colony” under the Karapetyan–Kocharyan tandem,” he said, referring to Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan and former president Robert Kocharyan.

“I think that, for the sake of the Republic of Armenia, it is sometimes better to remain silent.”

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