Manvel Grigoryan's Nephew, Village Mayor, Dismissed from Position

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has initiated legal proceedings against Zarzand Grigoryan, the head of the Arshaluyse community in the Armavir region. He faces charges for inflicting medium bodily harm under provocations from a group of individuals, extortion through conspiracy on two counts, large-scale extortion on three counts, and threats of violence and kidnapping under the use of arms, as well as abuse of office.

On June 29, 2018, the Armavir division of the RA Police opened a criminal case under Article 182, part 3, point 2 of the RA Criminal Code. Zarzand Meruzhan Grigoryan was labeled as a suspect and a preventive measure, a signature restriction not to leave, was imposed on him on July 5, 2018. On July 12, 2018, he was formally charged under Article 182, part 3, point 2, while the preventive measure remained unchanged. On September 19, 2018, the criminal case was transferred to the military investigation department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

On February 20, 2019, a decision was made to alter the charges brought against Grigoryan and to bring new charges under multiple articles of the RA Criminal Code, including parts 3 and 6 of Article 113, part 2, point 2 of Article 182, among others.

On the same day, a decision was made to change his preventive measure from a non-leaving signature to imprisonment, and a motion was filed to the first instance court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan for this change. However, on February 27, 2019, the Yerevan court rejected the request for his imprisonment. Subsequently, on February 28, 2019, it was decided to temporarily suspend Grigoryan’s functions as the head of the Arshaluyse community.

After obtaining consent from the prosecutor, the decision was sent to the Governor of Armavir on March 1, 2019, to ensure compliance with the legal requirements in the specified timeframe. The preliminary investigation into the criminal case is ongoing.