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A court in Yerevan has ordered Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to apologize through his spokeswoman for her disparaging comments about Armenia’s jailed former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian and his fugitive sons.
Khachatrian, who served as finance minister in former President Serzh Sarkisian’s administration, and his nephew went on trial in August one year after being arrested on corruption charges denied by them.
Law-enforcement authorities brought separate corruption charges against his two sons earlier in 2020. The latter went into hiding in May and remain on the run.
One of the sons, Gurgen Khachatrian, is the chairman of Ucom, a leading Armenian telecommunication operator controlled by the ex-minister’s extended family. In an April 2020 statement, Gurgen claimed that “high-ranking” officials have threatened to arrest him if the family refuses to sell its 77 percent stake in Ucom at a knockdown price.