Former MP Arrested in Yerevan on Calls to Seize Power

A Yerevan court has remanded former MP Ruben Hakobyan, a suspect in a criminal case on public calls to seize power.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on July 10, searches were conducted in the homes of members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation "Dashnaktsutyun" (ARF), including Gegham Manukyan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition party "Armenia". It was later reported that seven people were detained. On July 13, four young members of the Dashnaktsutyun, including Gegham Manukyan's son Taron, were released from the detention center.

13:58 11.07.2025

The main thing about political arrests in Armenia in the summer of 2025

In June 2025, a series of arrests of political opponents of the current government took place in Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the opposition is preparing a coup d'etat in the country.

Former member of parliament and former member of the ARF Ruben Hakobyan has been arrested for two months by the decision of the court of general jurisdiction of the Yerevan administrative districts of Avan and Nor Nork, News.am reported today.

According to the Investigative Committee, Ruben Hakobyan made a "public call for the usurpation of power" in an interview on July 1, 2025. On July 18, based on the investigator's petition, a case was opened against Ruben Hakobyan under the relevant article 422 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, the publication writes.

Ruben Hakobyan was detained on July 18, Novosti-Armenia reports.

Recall that on June 25, security forces conducted more than 90 searches in the case of preparing to seize power in Armenia. By a court decision, the leader of the Sacred Struggle movement, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 14 other people have been taken into custody.

A day earlier, on June 24, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that a coup had been prevented and published a document with the text of the opposition's alleged plan to remove him from power.

On July 5, activist Vahagn Chakhalyan was arrested, becoming the 17th person arrested in the case of the seizure of power.