In a statement from MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the “I Have an Honor” parliamentary faction, he said the arrest of the co‑authors of the podcast hosted by Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan was fully predictable given the current political developments in the country. According to Abrahamyan, the events unfolding in Armenia — including arrests, detentions and incidents of violence targeting political opponents — were clear indicators of the regime’s stance. He noted that the podcast run by Samsonyan and Saghatelyan “enjoys quite a large resonance,” and it was natural that such a platform would become problematic for the authorities.
He argued that the key concern for the government is platforms through which the opposition can reach broad audiences. “In a country where from clergy to the average citizen may be perceived as a threat by the authorities simply for holding a different view, naturally the arrests of media representatives have become a familiar feature for society,” Abrahamyan said.
Gohar Meloyan, head of the Parliamentary Development International Center NGO, commented on the search and seizure of equipment at the editorial office of Antifake.am . She wrote that through law‐enforcement bodies “the authorities are closing down the opposition mass media outlet — this is an unprecedented phenomenon in the last seven years.” According to Meloyan, the seizure of the equipment has no procedural or evidentiary value in the criminal case being pursued, and the real purpose of the move is to dismantle the activities of a popular opposition media platform.
According to the defence lawyer Arsen Babayan for Saghatelyan, the questioning of Samsonyan and Saghatelyan has concluded, and a motion for their pre‑trial detention has been filed at the Investigative Committee.
