Protesters in Yerevan expressed support for Tevanyan.

Supporters of Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia party, who was detained by security forces, demanded the opposition leader's release at a protest.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," last night it became known that security forces detained Andranik Tevanyan, chairman of the Mother Armenia party, who is second on the Prosperous Armenia party's list of candidates for parliament. Prior to this, the prosecutor's office convinced the Central Election Commission to approve the criminal prosecution of the candidate.

A protest involving members of the Mother Armenia party board took place near the courthouse where Andranik Tevanyan's pretrial detention is being heard today, News.am reports.

The protesters held posters in support of the detainee and criticized the prime minister in absentia, accusing him of betraying national interests. They demanded an immediate end to political repression and Tevanyan's release, the newspaper writes.

The publication is accompanied by a video showing about a dozen protesters. They chant "Tevanyan!", and some protesters hold posters with a portrait of the detained politician.

As a reminder, on May 20, during the election campaign, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the National Security Service would forward the criminal case against Andranik Tevanyan on charges of treason to the Investigative Committee. The following day, the Investigative Committee announced that criminal proceedings had been initiated against Tevanyan on charges of treason and espionage. According to investigators, Tevanyan, in 2024, for a fee of $622,000, passed information from a closed parliamentary session containing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service.

Tevanyan called the charges "ridiculous," explaining that he resigned from his parliamentary powers in 2023 and could not have participated in closed parliamentary hearings in 2024. On May 22, NSS officers conducted searches in the office of the Mother Armenia party and Andranik Tevanyan's apartment.

Analysts assess the chances of "second league" parties to enter the National Assembly of Armenia

The oligarch's "Prosperous Armenia" Party Gagik Tsarukyan and the Mother Armenia Party are participating in the parliamentary elections together. Tevanyan stated on February 15 that they were "fully satisfied" with the Prosperous Armenia party's election program.

The Armenian parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 7, and 17 parties and two blocs have been admitted. Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc, Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc, and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia Party are the most pro-Russian participants in the upcoming elections. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".