MP: Kocharian's Sending of Wreath to Gyumri Has Become a Matter of Settling Scores, Assaults, and Threats

National Assembly member Karen Sarukhanyan from the "My Step" faction has made a post on his Facebook page, stating that his criticism of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, sending a wreath to commemorate the victims of the earthquake in Gyumri has turned into a matter of settling scores, resulting in assaults and threats.

According to Sarukhanyan, supporters of Kocharian assaulted his friend and threatened him through that friend. The situation has escalated to the point where the MP has filed a report with the police.

In his post, Sarukhanyan wrote: "Yesterday, during the day, a person known as 'Sheko' residing in Gyumri, along with another called 'Karo,' attempted several times to meet with me through different friends, claiming they had 'something to discuss.' Later, I learned that they wanted to show me how they supposedly carried the wreath with pride, not with their heads down... Regardless, in response to their attempts to meet, I sent a message indicating they could meet during a public meeting in our office.

Feeling perhaps insulted, around 1 AM today, the young man known as 'Sheko' and another individual, having followed me and my friend, waited for my friend to drop me off at home in the Ani neighborhood of Gyumri. They approached him and asked, 'What’s Sarukhanyan to you?' My friend replied, 'He’s my friend,' after which they began to beat him, causing bodily harm. As a conclusion, they threatened that he should go and tell Karen that he will be next... Naturally, a report regarding this incident has been filed with the Mush division of the Gyumri police.

Furthermore, I would like to say to the esteemed 'Sheko' and similar entities that you have simply been fortunate that my current status unfortunately does not allow me to respond to you appropriately. The matter should be examined within the framework of the law, to which I expect a proportional punishment will follow," he wrote.