By Alexander Pracht
The first court hearing in the case brought by the Civilitas Foundation, CivilNet’s parent organization, against Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan took place on Monday at the Yerevan Civil Court. Civilitas is suing the mayor over offensive language he used during a televised debate. In a separate case, Avinyan is suing CivilNet for defamation due to an investigative article that alleged a conflict of interest that benefited his family financially during his time as deputy prime minister.
During the session, Civilitas’ lawyer Karen Tonoyan detailed the basis of the complaint, which stems from remarks Avinyan made during a live debate last December with former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan on Factor TV. In that broadcast, Avinyan responded to a CivilNet investigation into his family’s business ties to state contracts.
According to Tonoyan, the phrase in question is Avinyan’s statement: “Media here has become one big garbage dump.” Civilitas argued that the remark was a direct insult aimed at media outlets, including CivilNet.
The lawsuit requests that the court compel Avinyan to issue a public apology live on Factor TV and to have the final section of the court’s ruling published on the broadcaster’s website.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Avinyan’s legal team had neither submitted a response to the lawsuit nor presented any formal position. Although he had been officially notified of the date and time, the mayor did not appear in court. Judge Tigran Grigoryan denied a motion to allow a representative to appear on Avinyan’s behalf, citing the lack of a valid power of attorney.
Before closing the session, Judge Grigoryan asked Civilitas’ lawyer whether he would agree to postponing the hearing to allow the mayor to properly participate.
“Our organization fully supports giving Tigran Avinyan every opportunity to share his side of the story,” Tonoyan said. “We understand technical issues can come up, so we have no problem with them being allowed to take part in the hearings.” With this, the hearing was postponed to May 6.
Aside from the public apology, Civilitas is not seeking any financial compensation in its lawsuit. In contrast, Avinyan’s case against Civilitas is demanding 3 million drams (roughly $7,500) in damages in addition to the article being taken down.
CivilNet’s investigation, titled Armenia’s Former Deputy PM Oversaw Project That Benefited His Family Company, revealed that between 2018 and 2021, when Avinyan served as Deputy Prime Minister overseeing the agricultural sector, nine beneficiaries of a government program providing subsidies to agricultural businesses subcontracted work to a company owned by Avinyan’s family. A total of five beneficiaries received about $620,000 worth of direct payments to set up intensively cultivated orchards. The works were carried out by Irrigate LLC, headed by Avinyan’s father.
Tigran Avinyan, who holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Queen Mary University of London, worked in Armenia’s banking and tech sectors before entering politics. A member of the ruling Civil Contract party, he was elected Mayor of Yerevan in October 2023.
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