Who is the citizen involved in the altercation with MP Hakob Aslanyan of the CP?

Today, the citizen involved in an altercation with CP faction MP Hakob Aslanyan on a minibus is Samvel Vardanyan, who was in the spotlight for a similar incident last year in April. During an encounter with Nikol Pashinyan on the street, he shouted “Nikol, traitor” and was subsequently arrested and dismissed from his job.

In an interview with ArmLur.am, Samvel Vardanyan shared details about his dispute with Hakob Aslanyan today. “I have been exercising the institution of public condemnation; I wouldn’t characterize what I did as offensive statements. He is a governmental MP, and I am a citizen with the right to express my civil stance regarding the events occurring in my country and the actions or words of the authorities. I only said what I thought, and incidentally, he hit me so hard that my phone and wallet were thrown in different directions, and he was also trying to do something with his feet while getting down. I only made verbal expressions, but I did not hit him,” said the citizen.

Earlier in an interview with the media, Hakob Aslanyan claimed that the citizen had acted under the influence of certain political forces. In response to the accusations, the citizen stated, “I can only laugh audibly at this since my activities have been public; I have never been associated with any forces. Let’s say I signed under the declaration of the ‘Hayakve’ initiative at some point or participated in a rally of a certain political party as a citizen, that does not mean I am affiliated with a party,” said Samvel Vardanyan.