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Lawyer Arsen Babayan has condemned the authorities for their failure to launch a probe into the latest scandal involving the Armenian parliament speaker.

Alen Simonyan came under fire after he spat at opposition activist Garen Megerdichian who branded him a “traitor” in the Cascade, a popular pedestrian area in central Yerevan, on Sunday.

Megerdichian claimed that Simonyan ordered his bodyguards to grab his hands before swearing at him and spitting in his face. The activist was then briefly detained by police.

In a social media post on Thursday, Babayan, a vocal critic of the Armenian government, accused Simonyan of “hooliganism”.

“A legal and political process should have started at least one day after the incident in a democratic country where rule of law prevails,” the lawyer wrote.

“Thus, I believe that the issue can be considered closed from now on in terms of jurisprudence and democracy and there will be no further process.

“Any further development in this matter acknowledging Alen's act as wrongful and unethical would not be objective and would not serve a noble purpose. Possible "penalties" would simply be part of a struggle for power within the team,” he stated.