Associates called Chalabyan's arrest part of a policy of pressure on the opposition.

A court has sentenced Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the Hayakve movement, to two months' detention on charges of plotting to obstruct the exercise of electoral rights. Specifically, this relates to a visit abroad and meetings with business representatives intended to encourage Armenian citizens to vote for Karapetyan's party. The movement stated that Chalabyan's case fits perfectly into the pattern of repression.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," police and Investigative Committee officers conducted a search of opposition figure Avetik Chalabyan's apartment today and subsequently detained him. The Investigative Committee explained that Chalabyan was detained as part of a criminal case.

Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the Hayakve association, has been arrested for two months, Chalabyan's lawyer, Varazdat Harutyunyan, told reporters.

"The court has decided to arrest Avetik Chalabyan for two months. He will be held in the Armavir penitentiary institution. Visits are closed to everyone except lawyers," Armenpress quotes him as saying.

According to him, the submitted petition, with all its justifications, was insufficient to select arrest as a preventive measure, or any preventive measure at all.

Chalabyan is charged with preparing to obstruct the exercise of electoral rights. The penalty under this article carries a prison sentence of up to six years. Avetik Chalabyan denied the charges against him, calling them lies "from beginning to end." His lawyer said the court's decision will be appealed, News.Am reports.

According to the Investigative Committee, Chalabyan met with local officials in a foreign country in May and allegedly encouraged them, through local companies, to influence their employees—Armenian citizens—to travel to Armenia and vote for the "Strong Armenia" bloc in the parliamentary elections. The Investigative Committee did not specify which country. The Investigative Committee also cited an audio recording distributed by pro-government media outlets on the eve of the elections—June 6, the day of silence. The publications claimed it contained a fragment of a conversation involving Chalabyan. The department stated that an examination ordered during the preliminary investigation confirmed that the person speaking in the recording circulated online is Chalabyan, Armenia Today reports.

Historian and representative of the Hayakve movement, Areg Savgulyan, called Avetik Chalabyan's detention part of a policy of pressure on the opposition.

According to him, the authorities are trying to "create an atmosphere of fear" among the opposition and break the political will of their opponents.

Savgulyan stated that Chalabyan's case fits perfectly into the logic of repression and did not rule out further persecution of opposition representatives.

According to Savgulyan, the reason for such actions is the authorities' failure to secure a constitutional majority in the elections.

He emphasized that the Hayakve movement will continue its work regardless of the current situation. "No arrest can hinder our struggle," the publication quotes him as saying.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in May 2022, Avetik Chalabyan was arrested for two months on charges of attempting to bribe the chairman of the student council of the Agrarian University in Yerevan to mobilize students for protests. On December 21, 2023, the court found Chalabyan guilty and banned him from participating in or organizing protests for two and a half years, as well as from leaving his place of residence without permission from a supervisory authority. The defense called the case politically motivated and announced that it would appeal the court's verdict. Chalabyan's case is fabricated; the authorities are trying to intimidate protesters, noted human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that the parliamentary elections in Armenia were tense, with dozens of opposition members detained, mostly on charges of vote-buying. Prosperous Armenia stated that on June 7 alone, 50 of its supporters were detained.

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