Testimonies of MPs Regarding the Sahakyan-Vardanyan Incident Published

It has become known what testimonies were given regarding the incident between the head of the National Assembly's legal committee Vladimir Vardanyan and member Mher Sahakyan on March 31.

Today, Chief Prosecutor Anna Vardapetyan submitted a request for permission to initiate public criminal prosecution against Sahakyan. NA President Alen Simonian has consented to discuss the request presented by the Chief Prosecutor.

According to the testimonies, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, who attended the meeting as a representative of the government, stated that during the meeting, opposition MP Artzvik Minasyan had digressed from the topic, and Vladimir Vardanyan made a remark to everyone. At that moment, Mher Sahakyan stood up and shouted, extending his hand towards Vardanyan and striking Vardanyan on the left eye with his right hand, using the inner part of his fist.

“Vardanyan lost his balance and fell to the floor after the hit, after which Sahakyan left,” Kirakosyan said.

Vladimir Vardanyan also stated that Minasyan had strayed from the topic at hand, speaking about the “lost lands” of Armenia, which led to a loud discussion among the MPs. After that, he stood up and tried to calm the MPs. In response, according to Vardanyan, Mher Sahakyan said, “Don’t shout at us,” to which Vardanyan replied that he wasn't shouting.

“Then Sahakyan, without saying a word, hit the table with his hand, stood up, approached him, and without speaking, struck him on the left eyebrow with something in his right hand,” Vardanyan stated in his testimony.

Interestingly, witnesses, MPs from the ruling party Alkhaz Ghazaryan and Vigen Khachatryan claimed that Sahakyan hit Vardanyan with his hand, while Arpine Davoyan's testimony simply stated that Sahakyan struck Vardanyan. The details of the incident were described in the same order by both.

It is noteworthy that the testimonies of the opposition MPs differ from those given by their ruling counterparts. For instance, “Armenia” faction MP Gegham Nazaryan noted that during the meeting, Vardanyan spoke in a loud and aggressive tone, to which Sahakyan responded with a remark asking him not to shout. After that, Vardanyan hit the table and stated that he would speak as he wanted. After the same demand and response was reiterated, Vardanyan approached Sahakyan, and the latter, seeing Sahakyan approaching him, stood up, stepped back slightly, and when Vardanyan reached him, struck him with his right hand.

The same sequence of events was also recounted by opposition MP Artzvik Minasyan and Mher Sahakyan himself, who added that instinctively, for self-defense, he hit Vardanyan in the face with his right fist once and immediately left the room to prevent the incident from continuing.

Additionally, forensic expert Ishkhan Melkonyan testified that Vardanyan's injury could not have been caused by the broken part of the scissors found during Sahakyan's search. According to the expert, the injury would have manifested as a puncture wound if that were the case.

Regarding the scissors, “Armenia” faction expert Vahe Grigoryan also insisted that Sahakyan picked up the scissors from the table when recounting the incident in his office and broke them out of anger, injuring his finger.

Finally, it is also mentioned that witnesses Artzvik Minasyan and Gegham Nazaryan accepted Mher Sahakyan's unlawful behavior in a conversation with Vladimir Vardanyan after the incident and expressed their willingness to have him punished. Criminal prosecution against the MP can only be initiated with the consent of the National Assembly.