The hearing chaired by Andranik Kocharian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, discussed the worsening situation with crime in the country. Kyaramian testified during it along with the heads of the other Armenian law-enforcement agencies.
Hovik Aghazarian, a senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, provoked the unprecedented clash when he accused Kyaramian of being disrespectful towards an opposition colleague and said that the Investigative Committee tries to bully many Armenians, including himself.
“Stop using [pre-trial] arrest as a means of pressure, that's very dangerous,” Aghazarian told the committee chief.
“There is no one in this country who can blurt out [scathing] comments on what I say. If there was one, it means that I reacted very softly and my reaction will be felt later,” Kyaramian shot back menacingly.
“You are in the National Assembly, and such thuggish talk is not tolerated here,” an angry Kocharian intervened.
“It’s literally thuggish,” he said, dismissing Kyaramian’s denial of inappropriate conduct. “Why have you ruined this wonderful discussion?”
Armenia - Argisthi Kyaramian, head of Armenia's Investigative Committee, meets with the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, June 22, 2023.
Kyaramian responded by saying he was twice asked by unnamed individuals to stop criminal proceedings against Aghazarian’s son. He implied that the requests make mockery of the senior lawmaker’s talk about “fighting against corruption and favoritism.”
The claim triggered a shouting match between the two men seated next to one another. Sasun Khachatrian, the head of another law-enforcement agency, the Anti-Corruption Committee, rushed to drag Kyaramian away from Aghazarian to prevent the exchange of insults from degenerating into violence.
Significantly, Kyaramian was also criticized by two other Civil Contract parliamentarians during the hearing. Aghazarian called for the 34-year-old official’s dismissal when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service shortly after the incident.
Meanwhile, the governing board of the ruling party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian cancelled a weekly meeting that was due to take place later in the evening. It was not immediately clear whether that had anything to do with the incident.
Kyaramian is widely regarded as one of Pashinian’s trusted lieutenants. He has run the Investigative Committee since 2021. He had held four other high-level positions in the Armenian security apparatus and government since Pashinian came to power in 2018.