Armenia bloc: Even under threat of arrest, Robert Kocharyan returned to country

ArmInfo. Even under the threat of arrest, criminal prosecution, or political pressure, the second president of Armenia, leader of the "Armenia" bloc, Robert Kocharyan, has returned to the country, and speculation about his "flight" from the country is groundless. Thus, the press service of the "Armenia" bloc responded to attempts by some circles in the country to promote the idea of Kocharyan's so-called "flight" from the country.

In this regard, the political force decided to "refresh the memory" of those hyping this issue. It should be noted that they are speculating on the name of a man who, many years ago, clearly aware that arrest, criminal prosecution, and political pressure awaited him in Armenia, nevertheless announced his return and returned to the country. "A person who consciously returned from freedom under the threat of imprisonment hardly needs to 'run away' today. You may have different political views, you may disagree with him, but facts are facts," the bloc emphasized.

The political force expressed its conviction that what happened is a consequence of political hostility, which causes people to forget even what happened before everyone's eyes. "And it is sad that part of our society is more often happy about individual hardships than about the country's successes. And this is a question not only of politics, but also of public thinking. It is precisely for a change in this thinking, for the formation of a more conscious, more just, and more demanding society, that our struggle continues," the "Armenia" bloc concluded.

As a reminder, on June 14, the authorities banned Kocharyan from leaving the country. The office of Armenia's second president announced Kocharyan's intention to leave the country well in advance, stating that the politician intended to be absent for three days for personal reasons. Nevertheless, pro-government media and circles seized the opportunity to speculate on this topic, publishing headlines about the "flight of the second president," even though the trip had been announced in advance. Notably, the first video footage of Kocharyan's inability to leave Armenia was published by the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, owned by the family of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. However, the National Security Service of Armenia has yet to explain how footage from the closed security area came into the possession of the Pashinyan family newspaper. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies have yet to explain the basis for Kocharyan's travel ban. Earlier, Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan and Strong Armenia bloc board member Narek Karapetyan were also unable to leave the country.