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A brawl between MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party and the opposition Strong Armenia faction. Screengrab from official livestream
Armenia & Karabakh

Criminal Investigation Launched after Violent Brawl in Parliament

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The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
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By Arshaluys Barseghyan

YEREVAN (OC-Media.org) — Armenian authorities have launched an investigation into a violent brawl in parliament on October 29, involving MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party and the opposition Strong Armenia faction. No one has been charged so far. Under Armenian law, the MPs involved are protected by parliamentary immunity so in order to bring charges against the MPs, Armenian law enforcement agencies would need to get parliamentary consent to lift the immunity.

While scuffles are not uncommon in Armenia’s Parliament, the fracas in question was unusually violent and widespread.

The case was launched around two weeks after the incident and is being investigated under charges of group hooliganism and violence committed against an official for the purpose of interfering with their lawful official or political activities.

Under both articles, those found guilty could face up to five years in prison.

The brawl, the most violent since the parliament convened following the June elections, saw MPs throw bottles and nearly overturn tables and chairs.

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As the conflict intensified, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Vahagn Aleksanyan, a member of Civil Contract, threw a chair towards opposition MPs, while MP Taron Chakhoyan, again from the ruling party, was seen pouring a glass of water on an opposition MP.

Several MPs were later seen leaving the chamber with injuries and torn clothing.

The incident began during a speech by Chakhoyan, who accused the opposition, including Strong Armenia, of being “steeped in corruption.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later defended his party’s actions, saying that throwing a chair was “proportionate and right.”

Meanwhile, Strong Armenian MP Narek Karapetyan, described the incident as “a normal Armenian-style man-to-man fight.”

In turn, Parliamentary Speaker Ruben Rubinyan accused Karapetyan of starting the fight.

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Following the incident, around a dozen civil rights groups in Armenia expressed their “deep concern and condemn[ed] the acts of physical violence and hooliganism” in parliament, calling them “unacceptable and contrary to the principles of parliamentary democracy.”

“Citizens did not give MPs a mandate to engage in violence or acts of hooliganism, resolve political disagreements through physical force, or enjoy impunity for such conduct. A parliamentary mandate is an expression of public trust and responsibility, not a privilege that places MPs above the law or the rules of ethics,” the groups said.

They called on the parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Matters Related to Parliamentary Ethics to initiate an examination of the incident, “focusing on the conduct of the MPs involved.”

They also urged the relevant authorities to “conduct a proper investigation […] into possible criminal acts committed during the incident.”

The rights groups further expressed “deep concern” over Pashinyan’s response, “which encouraged and condoned the incident,” as well as the “positions taken” by Rubinyan and Karapetyan, who “treated the incident as normal and justified it.”

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