Lawmakers Persistently Fail to Attend Parliament: Aram Harutyunyan Remains Untouchable

Today, the National Assembly session was canceled due to a lack of quorum. To establish a quorum, at least 53 lawmakers must be registered, but only 8 had registered. This marks the third consecutive day that the parliamentary session has failed to convene because of the lack of quorum.

It is noteworthy that on the agenda was the question of granting permission to initiate criminal proceedings against Aram Harutyunyan, a member of the Republican Party faction of the National Assembly, and to deprive him of his liberty.

Earlier, the Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement informing that the combination of evidence gathered in the criminal case provides sufficient grounds to involve National Assembly member Aram Harutyunyan as a defendant in this case and to charge him with receiving a particularly large bribe, as outlined in Article 311, Part 4, Item 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and for the legalization of proceeds obtained by criminal means under Article 190, Part 3, Item 1.

As a result, Harutyunyan, who is accused—described by Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan—as having committed the largest corruption deal in the history of the Third Republic of Armenia—will remain untouchable for now.