The interrogation of Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelian, co-hosts of the “Imnemnimi” podcast and founders of AntiFake.am , has concluded, and a motion has been filed to place them in pre-trial detention. The news was confirmed by their attorney Arsen Babayan, who spoke to reporters outside the Investigative Committee, according to Sputnik Armenia.
“The charge is exactly the same—hooliganism using media tools—for which they were already acquitted. The prosecutor is the same as before, Mr. Avetyan, who lost the previous case in court, and now he’s pushing the same charges again,” Babayan stated.
He said the arrests were not aimed at upholding legal procedure but were instead intended to silence an opposition media outlet. Babayan confirmed that all of AntiFake.am ’s technical equipment had been seized.
“This is clearly a move to shut down the media platform,” he told Panorama.am, adding that the government had escalated its tactics following previous failed attempts to prosecute the journalists.
When asked whether the case had political motives, Babayan replied unequivocally: “Absolutely. This is political.”
He also criticized law enforcement’s double standards: “When the same or worse language is used by pro-government figures against the opposition or clergy, law enforcement does nothing. But when it comes from critics of the government, arrests follow. That’s what discrimination looks like.”
Babayan reiterated that there is no legal basis for the charges: “There is no crime in their actions.”
Earlier in the day, masked law enforcement officers raided the homes of Samsonyan and Saghatelian and arrested them. A subsequent raid was carried out at AntiFake.am ’s editorial office, where all equipment was confiscated.
