Urgent statement։ Prime Minister threatens political opponents with violent retaliation
PREFACE
On May 18 — three weeks before the upcoming parliamentary elections — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan threatened four opposition political figures with physical retaliation. Three of them lead political parties participating in the election campaign.
As the “justification” for these threats, Pashinyan referred to a video of unknown origin in which four masked and armed individuals threaten him. Without presenting any evidence, Pashinyan attributed the video to the opposition, claiming that his political rivals are backing the masked individuals.
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CONTEXT
At 11:30 a.m. on May 18, during a campaign event in Yerevan’s Arabkir district, Pashinyan displayed a video showing four masked individuals threatening him. The Armenian Center for Political Rights was unable to identify the original source of the video.
Later that day, the video was circulated by the ruling party-affiliated outlet Civic.am, as well as by Haykakan Zhamanak, formerly led by Pashinyan and now owned by members of his family. Neither publication provided information about the video’s original source. The source was likewise absent from the statement issued by the spokesperson of the Investigative Committee of Armenia announcing the initiation of criminal proceedings. In any event, the video gained widespread circulation primarily through Pashinyan and media outlets affiliated with him.
At 1:20 p.m., in another video address, Pashinyan stated that he had already seen the video on May 17: “Yesterday they showed me four people speaking with a Karabakh accent, wearing masks like this…” During the same speech, Pashinyan linked the masked individuals to opposition leaders Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Samvel Karapetyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan.
| “To those scoundrels in masks, I say: take off your masks, you idiots. You abandoned our boys alone in the trenches and ran away. Lowlifes, scoundrels. I’m going to rip off your masks and shove them where they belong, you sons of drudges (derogatory). I’m talking to you, Robert; to you, Serzh; to you, Kalugan; to you, Gago.” |
THREATS
Earlier that morning, at approximately 10:30 a.m., during the campaign event, a citizen approached Pashinyan and criticized him over Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war and its consequences:
| Citizen: “You are destroying the state.”
Pashinyan: “What exactly am I destroying?” Citizen: “You tried to make us kneel [humiliate]…” Pashinyan: “Who are ‘you’? If you are Rob, then we’re going to make you kneel. If you are Rob, I’ll make Rob [Robert Kocharyan], kneel too, I’ll make the Kalugan kneel, Gago [Gagik Tsarukyan] kneel, Serzh kneel.” |
A full transcript of the exchange is included in the Appendix. During the confrontation, Pashinyan repeatedly referred to the video featuring the masked individuals. Among other statements, he said:
| “If you are Rob, I’m going to make Rob kneel. Rob is going to prison. I’m going to finish [slay] Rob off. I’ll finish [slay] off the Kalugan too.” |
Throughout the same day, Pashinyan repeated threats of violent retaliation against opposition figures on several occasions. In response to a journalist’s question — “In your view, is it appropriate for an Armenian man to speak to a woman that way?” — Pashinyan replied:
| “I did not threaten the woman. I threatened Robik [Robert Kocharyan], and I am threatening him now as well. I am threatening him. I am threatening him. I am saying I will finish him off [slay] — I will.” |
In another exchange, responding to a question from a journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty while once again displaying the video of the masked individuals, Pashinyan stated:
| Pashinyan: I am specifically threatening these masked people with forceful actions — severe forceful actions… I’m going to finish them off.
Journalist: But you also named your political rivals. Pashinyan: “Because my rivals are standing behind them. And yes, my rivals too. I am threatening them. I am threatening them with the legislation and justice of the Republic of Armenia. I am threatening them over saying 5,000 deaths. Specifically threatening them — Robik, the Kalugan, Serzh, Gago — I am threatening all of you. Journalist: “Do you have evidence?” Pashinyan: “Yes. The evidence is that it [matches] their rhetoric one hundred percent…” |
CONCLUSION
In the past, threats made by Pashinyan have been followed by actions by law enforcement bodies. For example, on June 17, 2025, Samvel Karapetyan — currently the de facto leader of the “Strong Armenia” alliance — expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church during an interview. Immediately afterward, Pashinyan published the following statement:
| Pashinyan. Why have these promiscuous ‘clergymen’ and their promiscuous ‘bene- factors’ activated? No matter, we’ll pacify them again. And this time, for good. |
Within hours of this and several similar statements, Armenia’s National Security Service surrounded Karapetyan’s residence, conducted a search, and the businessman was detained the following day.
Such threats from the Prime Minister during an election period in itself calls into question the fairness of the electoral process and the ability of competing political forces to participate under equal conditions. The video featuring the masked individuals — whose origin remains unknown — is used as a pretext.
Given past experience, as well as Pashinyan’s leverage and influence over law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, the threats of physical retaliation voiced on May 18 should be taken seriously and interpreted as a warning of imminent political persecution.
APPENDIX: VIDEO TRANSCRIPT OF THE ARGUMENT BETWEEN PASHINYAN AND A CITIZEN
Original source: livestream on Nikol Pashinyan’s Facebook page (from 09:50 onward). Additional copies are also available from source 2, source 3.
Citizen: “You have senior officers who were forcibly disappeared or remain missing. How many do you have?”
Pashinyan: “197 people are missing.”
Citizen: “You’re lying. How many senior officers are missing?”
Pashinyan: “Ma’am, speak properly.”
Citizen: “I’m asking…”
Pashinyan: “Speak properly.”
Citizen: “How many senior officers have been forcibly disappeared?”
Pashinyan: “The total number of disappeared persons is 197.”
Citizen: “I’m asking about senior officers. You don’t know.”
Pashinyan: “For me, rank doesn’t matter — senior or junior…”
Citizen: “You tried to slaughter us…”
Pashinyan: “‘Slaughter you’? Who?”
Citizen: “You slaughtered us…” [inaudible due to shouting by Pashinyan supporters]
Citizen: “Guarantee my right to speak.”
Pashinyan: “We are guaranteeing it.”
Citizen: “You tried to humiliate us…”
Pashinyan: “First, will you identify yourself?”
Citizen: “We did not kneel…”
Pashinyan: “Will you identify yourself?”
[Pashinyan supporters begin chanting “Nikol Prime Minister,” drowning out the citizen.]
Pashinyan: “Candidate of medical sciences… Where do you work? Where do you work?”
Citizen: [inaudible]
Pashinyan: “No, say where you work. We created health insurance, we built a state…”
Citizen: “You are destroying the state.”
Pashinyan: “What exactly am I destroying?”
Citizen: “You tried to make us kneel…”
Pashinyan: “Who are ‘you’? If you are Rob, then we’re going to make you kneel. If you are Rob, I’ll make Rob, kneel too, I’ll make the Kalugan kneel, Gago kneel, Serzh kneel.”
Citizen: “If…”
[One of Pashinyan’s supporters grabs her arm]
Citizen: “Let my arm go…”
Pashinyan: “If you are Rob, I’m going to make Rob kneel. I’ll make Robe kneel.
Citizen: “You had eight years…”
Pashinyan: “I’ll do it now. I did make him kneel and I’ll continue to do so”
Citizen: “I am Armenian”
Pashinyan: “I am an Armenian, who has a state”
Citizen: “I am Armenian and a citizen of Armenia”
Pashinyan: “Your Rob shot Armenia’s citizen. He shot”
Citizen: “You shot”
Pashinyan: “I did not shoot. I [inaudible]My… The Rob you are talking about…you…you
Citizen: [inaudible]
Pashinyan: “there are dozens like you…I heard you enough”
Citizen: [inaudible]
Pashinyan: “So if you are Rob, I’ll make Rob kneel. Rob is going to prison. I’m going to finish Rob off. I’ll finish off the Kalugan too.”
Citizen: “You are the one who kneeled before Turks.”
Pashinyan: “You kneeled. You fled…fled”
Citizen: “I hate you. I hate you.”
Pashinyan: “Rob…”
Citizen: “It is all your fault.”
[The citizen attempts to leave. Pashinyan grabs her arm and pulls her back.]
Pashinyan: “Come here for a minute, don’t go. Rob, Serzh, and the others… Listen calmly. I listened to you…Those masked ones talking in Karabakh accent…”
Citizen: “Listen, forget it”
Pashinyan: “Those are the ones who ran away, the deserters. They fled the war at full speed in their Ferraris. They abandoned our boys. They abandoned our boys… Listen: I’m going to make Rob kneel too, Serzh too, the Kalugan too, Gago too.”
Citizen: “You’ve been prime minister for eight years. You should have done at least one good thing. You had eight years…”
Pashinyan: “I’ll tell you right now: health insurance, pensions, housing, one bill…”
Citizen: “You did that insurance at my expense.”
Pashinyan: “One billion… One billion…”
Citizen: “I have nothing to discuss with you. I came here to say that I hate you.” [Attempts to leave]
Pashinyan: “Then why did you come?”
Citizen: “I came to say that I hate you. You are an enemy.”
Pashinyan: “No. Stop.” [He steps in front of the citizen, blocking her from leaving.] “Stop, you need to hear this.”
Citizen: “You are an enemy. I’ve been listening to you for eight years.”
Pashinyan: “Stop and listen.”
Citizen: “I’ve been listening to you for eight years.”
Pashinyan: “Those people with the Karabakh accent… Wait a second… Those with the Karabakh accent… wearing masks… Listen for a second… with the Karabakh accent… I’m telling you: I’m going to make your Rob kneel, I’m going to make your Rob kneel, bring him to his knees, finish him off. I’ll make the Kalugan kneel too, finish him off too…”
Citizen: “What have you been doing for eight years, you pathetic people…”
Pashinyan: “You are the pathetic ones.”
Citizen: “What were you doing for eight years?”
Pashinyan: “We were building a country, building a state.”
Citizen: “You destroyed the country.”
Pashinyan: “You destroyed it.”
Citizen: “You destroyed the country.”
Pashinyan: “You destroyed it. You looted it through Karabakh.”
[The citizen finally manages to leave.]
Pashinyan: “And I’m saying this to those masked people with the Karabakh accent spreading that video — you are runaway cowards. Take off your masks. Take off your masks, you scoundrels, you deserters… You… you left our boys alone in front of the enemy…”
Anahit Avanesyan: “Yes!”
Pashinyan: “They spread videos wearing masks and speaking with a Karabakh accent. We say you are cowardly servants who fled the battlefield. Take off your masks. Take off your masks, you sons of Rob, sons of Serzh, sons of Gago, sons of Kalug… I’m going to bring every one of you to your knees. One by one, I’ll shove your masks where they belong.”
[Pashinyan supporters, including Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan: “Yes!”]
