Man who threw apple towards Pashinyan in August 2024 acquitted of all charges

On 11 April, Albert Arustamyan, a 71-year-old resident of Yerevan’s Zeytun district, was acquitted of charges of hooliganism for throwing an apple towards Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a sign of protest in August 2024.

Arustamyan was a native and former resident of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The episode occurred on 23 August 2024 during a visit by Pashinyan to one of his relatives living in the same building. Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL that the apple did not hit Pashinyan, but that emergency services were still called to the scene.

Following the incident, the family’s apartment was searched ‘in the presence of young children to find apples of the same type’ as the one tossed at Pashinyan.

Man charged with hooliganism after throwing apple at Prime Minister Pashinyan

Albert Arustamyan, a 71-year-old resident of Yerevan’s Zeytun district, has been charged with hooliganism after reportedly throwing an apple towards Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a sign of protest. The episode occurred on 23 August during a visit by Pashinyan to one of his relatives living in the same building. Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL that the apple did not hit Pashinyan, but that emergency services were still called to the scene. ’Neighbourhood children say that Nikol Pashi

OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan

According to Arustamyan’s lawyer, Roman Yeritsyan, also a native of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arustamyan, his two daughters, and granddaughter were taken to the police station ‘against their will and kept there until 07:00’.

Arustamyan was arrested later that same day, and was reportedly treated ‘rudely and contemptuously’ at the police station. He was later charged with hooliganism, but released pending investigation on the condition that he not leave the country.

If found guilty, he would have faced up to two years in prison.

Yeritsyan told RFE/RL that the criminal proceeding had been initiated due to the ‘target of the apple’.

After Arustamyan was acquitted, Yeritsyan wrote on Facebook that they should be thankful to the judge for ‘for staying true to the mission entrusted to him by the constitution’.

‘Undeterred by who or what was the target of the apple, Judge Arman Hovhannisyan made an objective and fair judicial act, giving Albert Arstamyan’s action the correct assessment both morally and legally’.

RFE/RL reported that the Prosecutor’s office had vowed to appeal the verdict.