Pashinyan condemns violence following alleged attack on ex-Republican MP

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan denounced violence after a former lawmaker was allegedly assaulted in broad daylight outside a shopping mall in Yerevan.

“There is no place for violence in the Republic of Armenia. Those who call for violence and those who resort to violence must be identified and face both political and legal assessment," Pashinyan said on social media.

"We must also have effective mechanisms for distinguishing and evaluating cases of psychological and moral violence. But although this is interconnected with physical violence, it is nevertheless a separate issue and does not change our perception of physical violence,” the Prime Minister added.

Opposition activist Mihran Hakobyan, a former Member of Parliament representing the ex-ruling Republican Party, was reportedly attacked by masked assailants and injured on December 8 outside the Dalma Garden Mall shopping center in Yerevan, according to lawyer Ruben Melikyan. Hakobyan has been hospitalized. No suspects have been identified, and the motive remains unclear.