KP Members of Parliament: Immune to Punishment. Why Have They Not Been Held Accountable? "Zhoghovurd"

"Zhoghovurd" newspaper reports: During the session of the National Assembly's legal committee yesterday, an incident occurred between the committee's chairman, ruling "Civil Contract" faction member Vladimir Vardanyan, and opposition "Armenia" faction member, Armenian Revolutionary Federation member Mher Sahakyan. According to available information, a debate took place at the end of the session, during which Mher Sahakyan hit Vladimir Vardanyan.

It is noteworthy that the opposition member was immediately arrested, and a criminal case was initiated. This clearly did not happen without orders; according to "Zhoghovurd" newspaper's sources, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan personally instructed faction leader Hayk Konjoryan to ensure that this incident would not go unpunished and to take action, while MP Andranik Kocharyan also called for a police intervention.

We should highlight that in the past, when ruling MPs were involved in incidents against opposition members, those criminal cases were swiftly dismissed. Let’s look at the facts: On December 7, 2021, an incident occurred in the National Assembly between members of the ruling faction and the aides of opposition members. The participants in the dispute included Hrachya Hakobyan, Vahagn Aleksanyan, and Sisak Gabrielyan; however, as a result, the aide of opposition MP Tadevos Avetisyan, Gerasim Vardanyan, came under the law enforcement's radar.

In another instance, there are videos showing how on August 5, 2021, Vahagn Aleksanyan hurled insults at opposition representative Vahe Hakobyan during his speech and then kicked him. After Aleksanyan struck Hakobyan, other ruling MPs joined in, causing another brawl that resulted in injuries to Artur Ghazinyan, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, and Gegham Nazaryan.

The most recent example occurred on March 15 during a session of the National Assembly's permanent committee on economic issues between Sisak Gabrielyan and Tadevos Avetisyan, with the ruling MP being the first to stand up; however, it did not escalate to a brawl.

It turns out that only opposition MPs are being punished.

Read the full article in today's issue of the newspaper.