Customs Colonel Appeals to Court for Public Refutation and 2 Million Dram

The Colonel of the Customs Service of Armenia, Babken Ghazaryan, has issued a statement claiming that Daniel Ioannisyan, the president of the Civil Society of Informed Citizens NGO, has defamed him. The statement mentions:

“On May 22, during a public discussion, Daniel Ioannisyan made defamatory remarks about me, citing obvious false information that tarnished my honor and dignity. Ioannisyan, in particular, stated:

“We have not previously seen cases where the national security service or its director has such close cooperation with criminal leaders... Everyone knows the names of these criminal leaders; that is, I do not know the names, they refer to them by nicknames: the likes of Vstrechi Apeer, Toxmakhi Babo, Vovayi Arshak; these people now feel freer than before...”

Ioannisyan's so-called viewpoint received a wide public response from a significant number of mass media present at the event. However, he continues to disseminate defamatory information about me, which indicates a clear intent, as the motives to present false information as undeniable truth have not been limited and have followed another attempt, ignoring the clarification made by the Director of the NSS, Arthur Vanetsyan, on May 24, regarding Ioannisyan's claims of my alleged ties to criminal figures and cooperation with the NSS, in which he stated that Babken Ghazaryan is a customs colonel of the RA State Revenue Committee who previously worked as the deputy head of the Erebuni administrative district, and the communication was in an official capacity.

Immediately after A. Vanetsyan's statement, Ioannisyan once again expressed similar viewpoints on May 25. Essentially, Ioannisyan continues to defame me by spreading blatant lies and information that does not correspond to reality, ignoring the NSS chief's clarification regarding his fabrications. Therefore, considering my professional path and achievements, fearing that the dissemination of unsubstantiated information and mere fabrications through media, without any response, could unjustly tarnish my honor and dignity, I find it necessary to remind the large masses of society that Ioannisyan has started a targeted process of discrediting both my person and the activities of the NSS director. In other words, an attempt is being made to cast a shadow over my personality, disregarding my long-standing professional activity in the public administration system.

Hence, I find it necessary to remind society once again that I am not a criminal figure, as Ioannisyan claims, but Babken Ghazaryan, who has carried out long-term effective work in the RA State Revenue Committee, contributing to the implementation of many successful measures aimed at customs reform, which have significantly improved customs procedures, making them faster, more efficient, and of high quality.

I have graduated from the Faculty of Law of Yerevan State University with a qualification in law and have also graduated with honors from the Russian Customs Academy, enhancing my knowledge and experience in the customs field. I have been awarded the special rank of customs colonel for excellent and honest service, and have also received commemorative medals. Throughout my career, I have been perceived by society as a law-abiding citizen with appropriate behavior.

Once again, I state that the statements made by Daniel Ioannisyan regarding my person are defamatory, do not correspond to reality, and are clearly aimed at discrediting me; thus, I have appealed to the court to refute the information regarded as slander. Considering the fact that the slander was disseminated during a public event in the presence of journalists, which facilitated the rapid spread of false information and accessibility to a large audience, as compensation for the moral damage caused, I will demand that Ioannisyan be obliged to publicly refute the statements considered defamatory in a similar manner, in the presence of the media, by publishing the full text of the refutation, as well as to recover two million drams, which will be used for charitable purposes.