Kocharyan — Former President Robert Kocharyan

Armenia & Karabakh Corruption Human Rights Politics

Kocharyan Arrested After Heated Parliament Exchange

August 25, 2026

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The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

316

By Ruzanna Stepanian

YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Robert Kocharyan, a former Armenian president leading one of the country’s main opposition groups, was arrested on Tuesday, August 25, the day after his younger son Levon bitterly argued with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the parliament.

Kocharyan was taken into custody in the morning as law-enforcement officers searched his home, the apartments of Levon and his older son Sedrak as well as the offices of businesses owned by them. Sedrak Kocharyan and four other individuals were also arrested as a result.

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) claimed that Robert Kocharyan, who had ruled the country from 1998-2008, had abused his powers to acquire state-owned property at cutdown prices. It also accused him of money laundering and bribery.

Kocharyan, who will turn 72 on August 31, was rushed to hospital from the ACC headquarters in Yerevan following a reported deterioration of his health. This did not stop investigators from petitioning a Yerevan court to sanction his pretrial detention.

For his part, Sedrak Kocharyan was charged with assisting in the alleged crimes attributed to his father. The four other detainees are current and former chief executives of companies linked to Kocharyan’s family. Another law-enforcement agency, the Investigative Committee, charged them with tax evasion.

Kocharyan’s Hayastan alliance condemned the arrests as politically motivated and pledged to continue to challenge the Armenian government.

“This is not a legal process,” it said in a statement. “This is a blatant subordination of the state apparatus to the political fears and vengefulness of one person … Neither President Kocharyan nor his family nor our political team can be suppressed or forced to come to terms with the current situation.”

The crackdown followed Monday’s tense verbal exchange between Pashinyan and Levon Kocharyan, who is a parliament deputy from Hayastan, during a parliament debate on the Armenian government’s five-year policy program. A question asked by Kocharyan Jr. left Pashinyan fuming.

“Why is your family a millionaire?” said the premier. “Where did you get that wealth from? You mean to say that your millions will be inherited by your children and your children [will then bequeath them to] their children … I’m telling you straight up that it won’t happen.”

“The court should decide what should be returned to whom, not the country’s top official,” Levon Kocharyan hit back, accusing Pashinyan of violating his family’s presumption of innocence and exerting pressure on the court.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged: for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged,” Pashinyan replied, quoting the Bible. “Now what I’ve told you [means] yes, I am judging you and I will judge you, and I am ready to be judged with the same judgment.”

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Topics: Corruption, Human Rights, Politics

People: Levon Kocharyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Robert Kocharyan, Sedrak Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan

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Hayastan was one of the three main opposition groups that challenged Pashinyan in the June 7 parliamentary elections and accused him of rigging them. Pashinyan has repeatedly pledged to jail their top leaders, including Kocharyan, before and after the elections. His critics say these statements prove that law-enforcement authorities cracking down on the Armenian opposition act on his illegal orders. Dozens of opposition leaders, members and supporters have been arrested in recent months.

They include Gagik Tsarukyan, a wealthy businessman leading the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) that was controversially denied seats in the new parliament. Tsarukyan was arrested and indicted in early July on what he sees as politically motivated charges. The authorities also shut down dozens of businesses belonging to him.

Sargsyan Prosecution

In a separate story, on August 31, a story on the Public Radio of Armenia reported that a criminal prosecution has been initiated against President Serzh Sargsyan as part of the criminal case involving Kocharyan, the Anti-Corruption Committee told reporters.

Sargsyan had earlier told journalists outside the Anti-Corruption Committee that he was not yet aware of the case in connection with which he had been summoned.

The developments come as the Anti-Corruption Committee investigates alleged corruption schemes involving Kocharyan, his son Sedrak Kocharyan and other individuals.

The investigation is ongoing.

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