Anna Hakobian ran into members and supporters of the Armenian National Alliance (AZhB), a fringe opposition group, when she visited Yerevan’s Tsitsernakabert memorial on April 24 during the annual commemoration of victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
They chanted “Genocidal Nikol!” “Nikol traitor!” and other anti-Pashinian slogans as Hakobian and one of her daughters laid flowers by the memorial’s eternal fire. Seven of them were detained and released in the following days.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said one of those individuals was charged with “public speech intended to incite or promote hatred, discrimination, intolerance or hostility.” The corresponding article of the Armenian Criminal Code was enacted after Pashinian came to power in 2018. The committee did not name the suspect or say whether he or she is affiliated with the AZhB.
Later on April 24, security forces broke up an antigovernment demonstration held by the AZhB in Yerevan and detained at least 96 of its participants. The unexpected use of force was widely linked with the Tsitsernakabert incident, with government critics accusing Pashinian of ordering a crackdown on the opposition group whose members insulted him and his wife.
The AZhB has grown increasingly critical of Pashinian in recent years. Like Armenia’s mainstream opposition, the pro-Western group has strongly condemned Pashinian’s controversial decision to cede four border areas to Azerbaijan and voiced support for ongoing protests staged by residents of Armenian border villages seriously affected by the land handover.