“HayaQve” coordinator and opposition figure Avetik Chalabyan has been released after nearly two months in pretrial detention, with the court declining to impose any preventive measure against him in a criminal case tied to Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections.
Judge Davit Balayan issued the ruling during the first court hearing on August 21, allowing Chalabyan to walk free from the courtroom.
Chalabyan was arrested on June 24 and accused of preparing, together with others, to obstruct voters from exercising their electoral rights through the alleged use of official influence. Investigators claim he sought outside assistance to encourage Armenian citizens working abroad to return to Armenia and vote for the “Strong Armenia” alliance.
Chalabyan and his defense have rejected the accusations, describing the case as politically motivated.
A prominent opponent of Nikol Pashinyan, Chalabyan is the coordinator of the “HayaQve” initiative, which emerged in 2023 in direct opposition to Pashinyan’s policy toward Artsakh and later joined the “Strong Armenia” alliance ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.
This is not Chalabyan’s first prosecution under Pashinyan’s rule. In 2022, during mass opposition protests demanding Pashinyan’s resignation, he was arrested in a separate criminal case and spent months in detention and under other restrictions. His conviction was later overturned on appeal.
His latest detention came amid a broader campaign of criminal prosecutions targeting political opponents, clergy, activists, and other figures openly challenging Pashinyan and his government.
