Has Aram Harutyunyan Gone into Hiding? Investigators Unable to Locate Him

Representatives of various political forces are attempting to politicize the initiative to appeal to the National Assembly for approval regarding the initiation of criminal proceedings against RA National Assembly member Aram Harutyunyan by the RA Prosecutor General, as well as the application of arrest as a preventive measure. They are using different media and social platforms to turn this initiative into a subject of undue political speculation and conspiracies. Specifically, they emphasize the timing of this initiative during the pre-election campaign, misrepresenting it with political and electoral implications, and in some cases presenting it as a manifestation of counter-campaign efforts, clearly serving narrow party electoral goals.

It is important to clarify that the necessary combination of sufficient evidence for initiating criminal proceedings against Aram Harutyunyan became possible only on November 30, as a result of the corresponding investigative actions that yielded factual data.

Second, the urgency of submitting applications to lift the immunity of the National Assembly member and to apply arrest as a preventive measure was conditioned by the fact that after obtaining the aforementioned evidence, on the same day, Aram Harutyunyan was summoned to participate in the necessary investigative actions, to which, however, he did not appear. The prosecuting body has received information indicating that the investigator was unable to establish contact with him for the purpose of inviting him to participate in the relevant investigative and other procedural actions. This means there is apparent evidence of Aram Harutyunyan's evasion.

It is clear that the urgency of submitting these applications, which is strictly in the legal domain, is conditioned by the need for the completeness, objectivity, and comprehensiveness of the preliminary investigation, to ensure the further natural course of the investigation and to take measures to ensure proper conduct of the participants in the criminal process.

Given the above, and considering that the interests of the preliminary investigation are in any case more important than the current socio-political realities and agenda, we find it unacceptable for the RA Prosecutor's Office, as a politically neutral and independent body, to give groundless, speculative, and cheap assessments regarding the implementation of its duties and powers in the absence of sufficient information about the criminal case, or to become a target for the tools of electoral campaigning or counter-campaigning.

We urge them to refrain from conducting activities that create public misconceptions, as well as from exerting political pressure on the activities of the Prosecutor's Office and other prosecution bodies.

At the same time, due to the necessity of ensuring compliance with the convention requirements for the effective investigation of the criminal case, we request the members of the RA National Assembly to ensure the discussion of the relevant applications from the RA Prosecutor General in accordance with established procedures.