Law-enforcement authorities also brought criminal charges against the blogger, Artur Chakoyan, who continued to receive treatment in hospital for injuries he suffered during the assault caught on cameras.
Chakhoyan, who lives in Nor Nork, entered the district administration building on Wednesday to try to attend a public discussion between local government officials and ordinary residents. He argued there with one of those officials before being attacked by several other men, who are thought to also work for the local government.
The district chief, Tigran Ter-Margarian, joined in the beating, repeatedly punching Chakhoyan. The latter was detained by police before being hospitalized.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said the next day that it has charged four persons with violent assault. It did not name any of them. Sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that Ter-Markarian is among the indicted suspects. None of them was placed under arrest.
Armenia - Activist and blogger Artur Chakhoyan speaks to journalists in Yerevan, February 1, 2025.
Ter-Margarian still did not risk arrest for his violent conduct strongly condemned by Armenian opposition members, human rights activists and media commentators. Nor was he fired by Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinian affiliated with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party.
Ter-Margarian is a senior member of the pro-Western Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party allied to Pashinian. The party enabled Avinian to become mayor through a power-sharing deal struck with Civil Contract in the wake of a 2023 municipal election.
Hanrapetutyun, which has been campaigning for Armenia’s accession to the European Union, effectively defended Ter-Margarian’s actions on Wednesday, calling them a legitimate response to a Russian-backed “provocation” against Armenia’s independence and sovereignty.
“While condemning any manifestation of violence and provocation, we believe that democracy must be protected by law and, if necessary, by force,” it said in a statement.
The Hanrapetutyun leader, Aram Sarkisian, made clear on Thursday that Ter-Margarian will not resign. Romik Mkhitarian, a senior party figure running another Yerevan district, told the Hraparak newspaper that he and all other municipal officials affiliated with Hanrapetutyun will resign if Avinian sacks the Nor Nork chief.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets Hanrapetutyun party leader Aram Sarkisian, June 22, 2021.
The Investigative Committee also charged Chakhoyan and an opposition member of the city council, Mesrop Manukian, with hooliganism committed through “the use of information or communication technologies.”
Earlier this week, Chakhoyan and Manukian posted a video of them inspecting a public kindergarten in Nor Nork which was renovated recently but is already falling into disrepair. They blamed the district administration for that, saying that a company contracted by it to refurbish the kindergarten is controlled by government loyalists.
Ter-Margarian responded to the video by threatening and swearing at the two men in a phone call the audio of which they shared with reporters inside the district administration building on Tuesday. Chakhoyan and Manukian also poured yogurt on a picture of Ter-Margarian in protest.
Chakhoyan’s lawyer, Vahe Yeprikian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the accusations levelled against them stem from that “civic action.” He denounced the criminal proceedings as a “legal farce.”