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Akbar Novruz

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Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and leader of the Armenia Alliance has reportedly been barred from leaving the country, although the reason for the restriction has not been disclosed, AzerNEWS reports.

Kocharyan's chief of staff, Bagrat Mikoyan, described the decision as "illegal and unfounded", accusing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of turning Armenia into a "concentration camp."

On June 14, Kocharyan announced on social media that he planned to leave Armenia for a three-day personal trip that had been scheduled long ago but was postponed due to what he described as a busy election campaign. He said he decided to publicly announce the visit in advance because of what he called recent "fake reports" spread by the authorities regarding opposition politicians' travels.

The development comes amid escalating tensions between the Armenian government and opposition figures. Earlier, Pashinyan declared that the public demanded the authorities "bring the three-headed mafia to its knees" and that this "must inevitably happen."

According to Armenian media, the prime minister's remarks referred to Kocharyan, businessman and opposition figure Samvel Karapetyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan. Both Karapetyan and Tsarukyan have previously faced travel restrictions linked to criminal investigations.

In the parliamentary elections held on June 7, the Armenia Alliance secured 9.9% of the vote.