Prime Minister and CP Spokespeople Comment on Incident Involving Hakob Arshakyan

The matter is now in the jurisdiction of law enforcement, and I will refrain from further comments. This was stated by the Prime Minister's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan in a conversation with NEWS.am regarding the incident that occurred today, March 18, between journalist Paylak Fahradyan and Armenia's Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan in a café.

“I regret the incident. Violence against journalists is unacceptable regardless of the reasons,” said Gevorgyan.

In turn, Vahagn Aleksanyan, the communications coordinator of the ruling Civil Contract party, also refrained from making an assessment in a conversation with NEWS.am, stating that he is not familiar with the details of the incident and has not spoken with Hakob Arshakyan.

“I did not see what happened before the published video, and that is what interests me. This is clearly not the complete picture. Until I see the full picture, I naturally cannot give any assessment,” said Vahagn Aleksanyan.

It should be noted that Hakob Arshakyan is a member of the board of the Civil Contract party.

Recall that today, in a café in Yerevan, journalist Paylak Fahradyan saw how the minister was spending his working hours. The journalist approached and asked why he chose to spend his working hours at a café. Arshakyan replied that he works at night and that all hours are working hours for him. After that, the minister asked the journalist to turn off the camera; the journalist complied, after which the minister began to threaten him. Following that conversation, the journalist went upstairs and resumed his work, while Hakob Arshakyan also went upstairs and attacked the journalist.

The journalist showed his damaged computer and injured hand, stating, “As you can see, my hand is injured. Moreover, Arshakyan hit my computer, breaking it, and my phone on the table was also damaged. There are cameras here, and I will demand that the footage be released from the café, and I will present it to the police. Consider this a report of a crime.”

Hours later, the Mediaport Telegram channel released footage showing how High-Tech Industry Minister Hakob Arshakyan attacked journalist Paylak Fahradyan in the café. In the video, the journalist is seen working on his computer when the minister approaches, pulls him by the arm, punches him in the face, and then, after hitting, damages the computer.