Mass brawl in Armenia’s parliament: a chair thrown, punches and a suspended session
A brawl broke out on 29 October in Armenia’s National Assembly in Yerevan during a speech by MP Taron Chakhoyan of the ruling Civil Contract party. From the rostrum he accused the opposition of corruption, then targeted the family of Narek Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia faction. After an exchange of insults, MPs from both camps came to blows. Deputy Speaker Vahagn Aleksanyan threw a chair towards the opposition benches; bottles flew and Mr Chakhoyan poured water over opposition MP Garnik Davtyan. Speaker Ruben Rubinyan initially refused to suspend the sitting “so that everyone can see”, before a break of about one hour. Clashes continued in the corridors, where security staff stepped in.
