Pashinyan Breaks An Unspoken Rule

Former presidents have lost their immunity.

For decades in Armenia, as in many other post-Soviet countries, an unspoken political rule prevailed: former heads of state were granted absolute immunity. Nikol Pashinyan became the first leader of the country to radically break with this tradition. The criminal cases against former presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan, along with arrests and proceedings to confiscate their property, have drastically changed the rules of the game in politics—which the authorities describe as fulfilling the mandate of the “Velvet Revolution” of 2018, while the opposition calls it a tool for redistributing property and settling political scores, according to the website "Deutsche Welle".

A Blow to the “Untouchables”

Another round of criminal prosecutions followed in August 2026—just two months after the parliamentary elections, which many experts describe as the most tense in terms of internal political confrontation and the acuity of mutual recriminations.

By order of the Anti-Corruption Court, Armenia’s second president, Robert Kocharyan, and his eldest son, Sedrak, were arrested for two months. Investigators have brought charges against the former head of state, including “abuse of official authority, acceptance of bribes on an exceptionally large scale, and money laundering during his presidency.” His son is a defendant in the same criminal case, and the court has even restricted his right to receive visitors.

Almost simultaneously, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia initiated criminal proceedings against nine other individuals in connection with this case. Among them is the country’s third president, Serzh Sargsyan. He is charged with “money laundering on an especially large scale, abuse of power, and aiding and abetting in the acceptance of a bribe.” A travel ban was imposed on Sargsyan as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, this is far from the first time that former leaders have come under scrutiny by law enforcement agencies. As far back as December 2019, Sargsyan was charged in the so-called “diesel fuel case,” which involved the embezzlement of state funds during his presidency. Kocharyan, for his part, was arrested as early as July 2018, shortly after the change in government, in connection with the high-profile “overthrow of the constitutional order” case.

A Break with Continuity

According to the director of the Caucasus Institute, Armenian political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan, the events of 2018 were not merely a change in leadership, but the first fundamental break with the Armenian political tradition established as early as the late 1980s. Consequently, he says, dismantling the guarantees of immunity for former leaders posed no problem for members of the new elite.

“Until 2018, there was continuity in power,” the expert notes in an interview with DW. Previous crises, including the transfers of power in 1998 and 2008, he says, remained purely internal to the system; at that time, the elite merely “changed its clothes and put on a new face.” He added, however, that the 2018 revolution triggered a profound shift, completely depriving the new government of its former “corporate solidarity.” “People commonly referred to as the ‘independence generation’—who lack Soviet bureaucratic experience—found themselves at the helm...,” Iskandaryan explains.

Armenian human rights activist Artur Sakunts elaborates on this idea in an interview with DW, explaining that the dismantling of old safeguards was necessary to put an end to a system he characterizes as a “state takeover.” According to him, until 2018, the impunity of the elites was systemic in nature. “It was precisely this systemic nature that was the main reason why the principle of equality before the law did not function, and presidents were considered untouchable,” he notes.

At the same time, the human rights activist emphasizes that although the revolution was a necessary measure to dismantle the old system, it is still too early to speak of a complete victory over the former ills. “Current instances of selective justice prove that the culture of impunity has not yet been fully overcome,” Sakunts states.

Echoes of the “March 1” Case

From the very beginning, the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan was rooted in the events at the end of his presidential term. The case involving the overthrow of the constitutional order concerned the tragic events of March 1, 2008. At that time, a clash occurred in central Yerevan between law enforcement officers and supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president and the government’s main political rival, who refused to recognize the election results.

Ten people were killed, and hundreds were injured. Nikol Pashinyan, who was one of the most active opposition figures at the time, spent more than a year in hiding following these events; he later surrendered to the authorities and was released under an amnesty only in May 2011.

These events, as experts note, had a significant impact on Armenia’s political landscape. It was the events of 2008, according to many observers, that served as the catalyst that laid the foundation for the eventual collapse of the old political system. As Alexander Iskandaryan notes, they formed a “stable network of opposition activists.” It was within this environment that Nikol Pashinyan evolved as a protest leader. “Ultimately, it was precisely this protest energy accumulated over a decade and these horizontal connections that enabled the new generation to dismantle the former regime,” Iskandaryan explains.

Oligarchs Will Keep Their Pensions

Today, both former presidents are also facing charges of illicit enrichment and asset forfeiture. The opposition calls this process “a tool for redistributing the property of disloyal politicians,” while the government insists that it is fulfilling “the revolution’s main demand—restoring justice.”

Nikol Pashinyan himself adopted a harsher tone following the August 2026 arrests. At a government briefing, the prime minister explicitly laid out the new rules of the game for the former elite, mentioning not only presidents but also the leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party, prominent businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, who was also recently arrested. Now facing charges of large-scale financial fraud and tax evasion, Tsarukyan had previously been known for his political flexibility. Having managed to form alliances with both former presidents, in 2018 the leader of “Prosperous Armenia” realized in time that a change in power was inevitable; he briefly supported Nikol Pashinyan and joined his transitional cabinet of ministers.

“The political task is as follows: Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan, when the first of the month approaches, must check their phones to see if their pensions have arrived,” Pashinyan said. “Because they must live on their pensions and lawful income. And whatever was acquired illegally must be returned, down to the last kopeck, to the Republic of Armenia and its people. There is no other option.” He added that if this does not happen, the country will need a “new revolution.”

The new elite, led by Nikol Pashinyan, Iskandaryan believes, sees itself as part of a completely “different corporation” and is “if not burying, then at least putting to rest” the old political tradition. In his view, this type of elite has previously emerged in other countries in the region—for example, in Georgia during the era of Mikhail Saakashvili or in Moldova, the political scientist concludes.

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