Archbishop Bagrat sues Pashinyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the Sacred Struggle movement, has filed a lawsuit against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

According to Sputnik Armenia, the archbishop is asking the court to order the prime minister to retract statements that he says are false and damage his honor, reputation and dignity.

The claim concerns remarks made by Pashinyan during a government meeting on June 11, when he said that the Civil Contract party had received "100% organic" votes, while all other political forces had received votes "100% through vote buying," adding that "without money, absolutely nobody voted for the opposition."

The lawsuit asks the court to "oblige defendant Nikol Pashinyan to publicly retract the statement on the official website of the Government of Armenia, the official website of the Prime Minister of Armenia, as well as through a print publication with a circulation of at least 5,000 copies."

The archbishop is also seeking 49.7 Armenian drams in symbolic compensation for non-pecuniary damage. According to official election results, 49.7% was the share of votes received by the Civil Contract party in the parliamentary elections.

The archbishop is additionally requesting reimbursement of the state fee paid when filing the lawsuit.

The Constitutional Court previously rejected a complaint filed by seven political forces. Under the final election results, the parties entering parliament are Civil Contract with 64 seats, Strong Armenia with 29 seats, and the Hayastan Alliance with 12 seats.