Political Prisoners

In this week’s Groong episode, Hovik and Asbed review September 2026 developments across Armenia and the South Caucasus. We examine Artsakh’s remembered independence declaration on September 2, 1991, and its unresolved cause following the 2023 ethnic cleansing; Putin’s signaling on Russia’s military base presence; ongoing Armenian Church prosecutions; EU trade negotiations; mounting non-combat military deaths; and political pressures ahead of local elections. We also analyze U.S. envoy Witkoff and Kushner’s diplomatic shuttle through Moscow and Kyiv.

Armenia navigates complex regional diplomacy as Pashinyan meets Putin on EU ties, discusses TRIPP corridor implementation, while prisoner rights concerns and domestic political tensions escalate.

Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s precarious position at the SCO Summit amid Russian escalation in Ukraine, unprecedented Western diplomatic visits to Moscow, renewed US-Iran conflict, and Pashinyan’s meetings with regional leaders while former Artsakh presidents languish in detention and selective political prosecutions continue. Suren Sargsyan examines Washington’s unclear endgame in the Iran War, Russia’s military presence in Armenia amid great-power competition, and the competing U.S. and European stakes in TRIPP and Central Asian transit routes.

School administrators forced underage students to attend Pashinyan campaign rallies during elections. The government declined to prosecute, issuing only administrative reprimands, a stark contrast to treatment of opposition figures.

Putin congratulates imprisoned Robert Kocharyan on his birthday while ignoring Pashinyan’s reelection. The hosts decode the geopolitical message behind this selective honor.

Pashinyan intensifies crackdown against opposition figures post-election. Tsarukyan, Kocharyan, and Karapetyan face arrest and asset seizures as regime consolidates power.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Arthur G. Martirosyan about Armenia’s post-election political crisis and Pashinyan’s governance agenda. We discuss the arrest of opposition leaders including Robert Kocharyan, attacks on the Armenian Church, border concessions including Tigranashen, the TRIPP corridor, and how the Established Opposition is strategizing under state repression in the Fourth Republic.

Armenia is largely absent from international political prisoner tracking databases despite widespread detention, house arrest, and administrative supervision of opposition figures.

An apparent unwritten ethical agreement between Civil Contract and the opposition to maintain parliamentary civility masks a larger question: is Strong Armenia trading political leverage for immunity from prosecution?

Hovik describes how a farmer was arrested for hooliganism after refusing to be intimidated by a pro-government blogger, exposing the regime’s weaponization of vague charges to silence dissent.

After 344 days in pretrial detention on terrorism charges for leading a peaceful protest walk in 2024, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was released to house arrest. The release came weeks after UN criticism of Armenia’s human rights violations.

Hovik and Asbed debate the Armenian opposition’s summer inaction strategy, asking whether waiting for a political trigger is wise or whether missed labor protest momentum squanders real opportunities.

Asbed argues Pashinyan has no interest in securing the release of Armenian POWs and political prisoners from Baku because these leaders are too popular domestically and pose a threat to Civil Contract’s political dominance.

In this week’s Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed break down escalating tensions across the Middle East as the US-Iran war intensifies following the collapse of the June ceasefire. We examine the strategic implications for Armenia and the South Caucasus, the role of TRIPP advocates like Konstantin Sokolov, and how regional instability intersects with Pashinyan’s political vulnerabilities at home, including charges against Archbishop Galstanyan and ongoing Armenian POW cases.

Markedonov documents Pashinyan’s systematic criminalization of opposition through the concept of ‘Sanation,’ revealing an authoritarian consolidation pattern in post-election Armenia.

Within hours of the Constitutional Court ruling, 2,000 NSS agents raided over 70 sites linked to opposition figure Gagik Tsarukyan, using military-grade weaponry in what hosts describe as political theater targeting alleged white-collar crimes.

Amb. Aghajanian explains why Armenia’s Constitutional Court cannot deliver a fair legal ruling on the disputed June 2026 parliamentary elections, given that all judges were appointed by the ruling Civil Contract party.

Asbed explains the logic behind Armenia’s post-election arrests: disabling opposition in the present, not building lasting cases for future prosecution.

Opposition leader Robert Kocharyan was detained at the airport without justification, then charged with crimes allegedly committed two decades ago that fall outside the statute of limitations.

Political scientist Hrant Mikaelian outlines the opposition’s realistic options: accept parliamentary mandates, challenge electoral fraud at the Constitutional Court, and prepare for critical local elections in September and October.

Political scientist Hrant Mikaelian explains why Pashinyan’s government is escalating repression despite claiming electoral victory, signaling deeper anxiety about legitimacy and control.

Arthur Martirosyan critiques Pashinyan’s campaign rhetoric as threats of imprisonment and violence. In any republic, such threats would disqualify a candidate; Western media ignored them.

Arthur Osipyan was arrested and charged with three counts, including obstructing a campaign, for politely asking Pashinyan questions on video that the prime minister agreed to answer.

Armenia’s hate speech laws, meant to protect minorities, are being weaponized to criminalize political criticism of Pashinyan, with courts treating his political conduct as a protected characteristic.

Pashinyan’s Deputy Chief of Staff admits the government is summoning diaspora Armenians arriving from Russia to 25-day military training camps to punish suspected opposition voters.

Law enforcement in Armenia rapidly leaks opposition wiretaps during the election campaign while ignoring reports of government-side abuse and patronage, creating a stark double standard.

In this Spotlight on Silence episode, we speak with Rafael Ishkhanyan of the Armenian Center for Political Rights about selective justice and state pressure ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election. We discuss wiretaps and leaks targeting opposition figures, abuse of hate speech laws against government critics, military service summons used as political coercion, and Pashinyan’s threats against political opponents and Artsakh Armenians.

Anna Grigoryan of Hayastan Dashinq (Armenia Alliance) joins Groong to discuss Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election and the start of the official campaign. The conversation examines the EPC and Armenia-EU summits in Yerevan, EU political and financial support for Pashinyan, Aliyev’s remote demarche, and opposition protests around Artsakh rights, Armenian prisoners, and democratic backsliding. The episode also covers opposition coalition math, Hayastan Dashinq’s 8% bloc threshold, Strong Armenia’s lead among opposition forces, possible post-election governing formulas,  Read More

Hovhannes Ishkhanyan and Nare Navasardyan discuss the growing role of the EU, fact-checking networks, and counter-disinformation programs in Armenia’s 2026 election environment. The conversation examines claims of foreign interference, the use of “hybrid threats” and “disinformation” labels against domestic dissent, and the political bias of Armenia’s fact-checking ecosystem. The guests also share personal experiences with lawsuits, public confrontation, protest, and censorship, raising broader questions about free speech, election fairness, and the management of Armenia’s information space.

In this Conversations on Groong episode, we speak with Arega Hovsepyan of the Strong Armenia party about Armenia’s upcoming June 2026 parliamentary elections and the broader political climate. The discussion focuses on recent arrests targeting opposition figures, the situation of displaced Artsakh Armenians, competing narratives around “peace” with Azerbaijan, and the implications of the TRIPP or Zangezur Corridor project. We also examine opposition unity, polling trends, and legal questions surrounding Strong Armenia’s political strategy.

Dr. Pietro Shakarian joined us to discuss the state of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the shrinking chances for a diplomatic off-ramp, and how the conflict is shifting wider Eurasian politics. The conversation then turned to Armenia, including the likely freezing of TRIPP amid the Iran war, Pashinyan’s contentious visit to Moscow, and the deeper low point in Armenia-Russia relations. The final section focused on Armenia’s June parliamentary elections, public sentiment toward Pashinyan, fears over election integrity, and the evolving opposition landscape.