Security forces have banned former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan from traveling abroad
At Zvartnots Airport in Armenia, law enforcement officials prevented Robert Kocharyan, the former president and leader of the opposition alliance “Armenia,” from leaving the country.
Law enforcement officers stopped the politician as he attempted to board a plane without providing any official explanation.
According to representatives of Kocharyan’s office, the politician had planned a brief three-day trip abroad to attend to personal matters.
Given the tense domestic political situation in the country, the alliance leader’s team had publicly informed the public about this visit in advance.
The opposition figure’s entourage considers the security forces’ actions to be an illegal restriction on freedom of movement and political pressure from the current government.
“If anyone thinks that President Kocharyan might leave the country and flee, they are deeply mistaken. Only one person will flee Armenia,” stated Bagrat Mikoyan.
Robert Kocharyan himself links this incident to coordinated actions by government agencies and media outlets under their control.
The politician emphasized that information about the blocking of his departure appeared in the press suspiciously quickly. This may indicate a planned campaign aimed at discrediting opposition forces.
“Despite a previously published statement that President Kocharyan was leaving for three days on personal business, his departure from the country was illegally blocked, and it is no surprise that government-controlled media knew about this, possibly even before the border guards themselves,” the alliance leader wrote.
The incident at the airport occurred immediately after Armenia’s Central Election Commission officially certified the results of the parliamentary elections.
Three political forces made it into the new National Assembly: Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s “Civic Contract” party with 49.7%, “Strong Armenia” led by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, which received 23.2%, and Kocharyan’s opposition alliance “Armenia” with 9.9% of the vote.
Incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has already released a video address in which he threatened severe consequences for all parties involved in voter bribery.
The travel restrictions on Kocharyan are part of a broader campaign against representatives of Armenia’s opposition forces.
Previously, the leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, Hagik Tsarukyan—against whom a case has been filed for tax evasion—and the head of the “Strong Armenia” electoral list, Narek Karapetyan, were unable to fly abroad.
In addition, law enforcement authorities arrested six parliamentary candidates on charges of money laundering and obstructing the free expression of citizens’ will.
It is worth noting that Robert Kocharyan has repeatedly emphasized his close ties with the leadership of the Russian Federation and has called himself a personal friend of Vladimir Putin.
This information was also confirmed at the time by Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who spoke of strong friendly relations between the politicians.
At present, official Armenian authorities are not commenting on whether the travel ban is linked to the investigation into election fraud.
This was reported by News.am.
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