Pashinyan confrontation followed by dismissal after 21 years
Doctor Arpine Sogoyan, who confronted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at an election rally in May, has been dismissed after more than 20 years at a Yerevan clinic. Her daughter said the decision was presented as a redundancy despite her mother’s 21 years of flawless service.
Sogoyan, who headed the clinic’s women’s health department, told Pashinyan during the rally: “You stole my homeland. You destroyed an entire young generation of the nation.” The prime minister lost his temper in response and began insulting and humiliating her.
The Pashinyan confrontation has now been followed by what the doctor’s family describes as an unjustified dismissal. Her daughter, lawyer Tatevik Sogoyan, announced the decision on social media and promised that it would face legal consequences.
“You asked what happened to my mother’s job after her ‘warm’ meeting with Pashinyan. Here is the answer: after 21 years of faultless work at a Yerevan clinic, a decision was taken to dismiss my mother as part of staff cuts. In other words, the clinic will still have a women’s health department, but it will no longer have a head of department. Thousands of women across an entire administrative district, including expectant mothers, will be left without the supervision of an experienced department head,” she wrote.
Family alleges retaliation over rally criticism
It was reported that the clinic’s management initially asked Arpine Sogoyan to resign voluntarily. After she refused, the management allegedly abolished her position in what the article described as an illogical staff reduction that would disrupt the work of the entire department.
The source portrayed the dismissal as retaliation for the Pashinyan confrontation rather than a genuine restructuring measure. Tatevik Sogoyan said the family would challenge the decision through legal channels, although no further details of the planned action were provided.
The article also drew a comparison between Pashinyan and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, accusing both politicians of responding vindictively to personal criticism. It claimed that Sandu had attempted to sue and financially ruin a woman from her home village, while Pashinyan had allowed his personal pride to contribute to the dismissal of a highly qualified doctor.
