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YEREVAN. – National Assembly (NA) MPs Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan, and Sasun Mikaelyan were arrested for organizing and holding unlawful assemblies.

The Prosecutor General of Armenia, Artur Davtyan, on Tuesday stated the aforesaid while presenting—at the meeting of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs and Protection of Human Rights—the 2017 report of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

“Subsequently, [then] Acting PM Karen Karapetyan petitioned to me in writing—with relevant justifications—not to launch debates in the parliament [with respect to stripping these three then opposition MPs from their parliamentary immunity],” he added, in particular. “I sent a letter to the NA chairman that this matter be removed from the [NA] agenda; and they were released the same day.”

Edmon Marukyan, a member of the opposition “Way Out” (Yelk) Faction at the NA, for his part, argued that, in fact, this decision was made because of political considerations.

Davtyan, however, responded that there was no political consideration.

“Nobody instructed me anything; I carried out professional activities,” he said, in particular. “But there is a political significance in [my] taking back the motion [for stripping the aforementioned then opposition MPs from their parliamentary immunity].

“Vice-Chairman of the [then] ruling political force petitions that this motion not be debated on [in parliament]; for me this means that my motion will be denied. In that case, what’s the point in continuing with the motion?”

On the morning of May 22, police arrested Yelk faction MPs Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan, and Sasun Mikaelyan on a street in capital city Yerevan. But some hours later, they were released; and, on the next day, then PM—and ex-President—Serzh Sargsyan resigned from office.

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