‘He told me, publish whatever you want, there’s no game against us’: Former wife of MP reveals new details

The former civil wife of Rustam Bakoyan, the MP from the Civil Contract faction and the Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, has shared insights about the physical violence he inflicted upon her in an interview with NEWS.am. The identity of the woman is not disclosed at her request.

“I was living abroad. His brother's wife was my fellow villager, and we maintained contact from afar. Additionally, I was close with a friend of that woman, who is also from our village. Both are married in their village. Rustam learned about me remotely, and when I came to Armenia, our mutual friend introduced us. We met on May 31, 2019, when he was already an MP. I moved to Yerevan in March 2020. He lived in my apartment. Initially, he stayed with me a few days a week, and then we began living together permanently as a married couple. We didn’t formalize our relationship because he said Yazidis are not allowed to marry women of other nationalities. He said, if we live together, we are essentially married,” she recounted.

According to her, the MP first raised his hand against her in August of the previous year, and that behavior became recurrent. “That day he hit me, claiming he was jealous without any reason, as he knew he was the only man in my life and that I always idolized him. He just hung on one word and raised his hand. After that, I decided I had to leave him. We resumed our relationship after his pleas. I once filed a complaint with the police to scare him, but later I withdrew it. After that, I noticed he kept his phone closed and was often distracted with it. One time, I found correspondence from another girl on his phone; he swore it was before me and had just remained on his phone,” she said.

She stated that she had always financially supported Rustam Bakoyan. “I addressed any financial issues; if I sensed he needed money, I provided it, while he did nothing. Eventually, he realized I could no longer help him financially, and using a quarrel as an excuse, he left. I wrote to him that he should come back so we could talk like grown adults. After a long time, he replied that he didn’t want to and didn’t come back,” she noted.

According to her, she had decided to remain silent, but recently learned something that compelled her to change her mind. She does not wish to reveal what she discovered at this time. “When I learned, my pride was significantly hurt; I realized he had used me and decided to speak out. After the publication, he hasn’t contacted me directly but called a mutual friend and said to do everything possible to get in touch with me. However, I will not back down; I have tolerated much, but this is beyond that. I want him to reflect upon himself and for the Civil Contract party to cleanse itself of the weeds within it. I recently told him I would publish everything, and he said, ‘Do whatever you want, there’s no game against us.’ I believe there are decent people among them who will set him right after learning all of this,” the woman added.