The charges brought against Ruben Hakobian and denied by him stem from his July 1 interview with a pro-opposition TV channel in which he strongly condemned a recent wave of arrests of opposition activists and other vocal critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. He accused Pashinian of systematically violating Armenia’s constitution and laws and said Armenians have therefore a legitimate right to revolt against their government.
Hakobian insisted that “the case is political” when he briefly spoke to reporters in a court in Yerevan. His lawyers petitioned the court to throw out the charges, saying that the veteran politician’s remarks did not constitute a call to action. The judge presiding over the trial dismissed the request while agreeing to free Hakobian pending a verdict in the case.
The 69-year-old Hakobian is a former member of the Armenian parliament. He is currently not affiliated with any party.
Billionaire Samvel Karapetian and Archbishop Mikael Ajapahian of the Armenian Apostolic Church were arrested on the same charges in June. They too reject the charges as politically motivated.
Karapetian was prosecuted on June 18 just hours after condemning Pashinian’s efforts to oust the church’s top clergy opposed to further concessions to Azerbaijan planned or already made by the premier. Law-enforcement authorities filed more charges against the tycoon in early July as he pressed ahead with the establishment of a new opposition group expected to challenge Pashinian in next year’s parliamentary elections.