Armenia’s second president, Robert Kocharyan, was not allowed to leave the country by representatives of law enforcement agencies at Zvartnots Airport, according to Panorama.am.

Earlier, Kocharyan’s office had announced that the former president was leaving Armenia for a three-day trip. The visit was described as private, planned in advance, and postponed due to the demands of the election campaign.

“We have never previously provided advance information about the president’s many trips because of their private nature. However, considering the false narratives recently spread by the authorities regarding visits by opposition representatives, we consider it necessary to spare the public from the expected new wave of misinformation,” the statement said.

Member of parliament Levon Kocharyan confirmed reports that former president Robert Kocharyan had been prevented from leaving the country, according to Factor.am .

“To be honest, I also learned about it from the news. This is yet another act of arrogance and unlawfulness. They have absolutely no right to do this, but we can all see what is happening,” he said.

Levon Kocharyan clarified that his father had planned to travel to Russia.

“Precisely because of several similar incidents in recent days, when the government’s propaganda machine interpreted every departure from the country in its own way, we announced this trip in advance. There was nothing unusual about it. He was supposed to leave for a few days, but they still staged their show and carried out their unlawful actions,” he said.

Amid reports about Robert Kocharyan’s planned departure, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan published a video in which he said: “Don’t rush to pack your suitcases. You will dream of having the opportunity to flee Armenia, and you will not have that opportunity.”

Head of the second president’s office Bagrat Mikoyan stated that the incident was, in his view, predictable under the current authorities.

In a statement he released, Mikoyan said: “Despite our prior announcement that President Kocharyan was leaving for three days on personal matters, his departure from the country was illegally blocked without any explanation. It is not surprising that pro-government media outlets may have known about it even before the border guards.

The petty dictator has effectively transformed the so-called ‘bastion of democracy,’ so highly praised by his European patrons, into a ‘democratic concentration camp.’ If any servant of Aliyev imagines that President Kocharyan could flee the country, he is gravely mistaken. Only one person will flee Armenia, and that person is Aliyev’s lapdog — if, of course, he is fortunate enough to escape,” he said.

On June 14, the final results of the June 7 parliamentary elections were published. Civil Contract received 726,819 votes, or 49.7456%; Strong Armenia won 340,006 votes, or 23.2710%; and the Armenia Alliance secured 144,983 votes, or 9.9231%. The Prosperous Armenia party failed to clear the 4% threshold and will not enter parliament, receiving 58,287 votes, or 3.9893%.

Civil Contract will hold 64 seats in parliament, including three seats allocated to representatives of national minorities. The Strong Armenia party will receive 29 seats, including one seat for an Assyrian representative, while the Armenia Alliance will receive 12 seats.