European University Denies Claims of Arthur Baghdasaryan's Ownership of the Resort

On November 15, 2019, an article titled "Former Minister of Transport and Communications and Leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party, Arthur Baghdasaryan, is suspected of having appropriated a resort valued at $5 million" was published on the website "shamshyan.com" and subsequently circulated mechanically by several media outlets (araratnews.am, asekose.am, 1lurer.am, azat.tv, etc.). The information contained in this article is false and bears no relation to reality.

According to the information disseminated in the press, "R.K. has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office, claiming that in 2013, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Gurgen Sargsyan, unlawfully transferred one of the resorts located in the Agveran community of Kotayk Province, valued at approximately $5 million, to the leader of the Orinats Yerkir party, Arthur Baghdasaryan, against the provisions of the Armenian Constitution." Initially, it should be noted that Gurgen Sargsyan served as the Minister of Transport and Communications from 2008 to 2010, and naturally, according to press information, he could not have carried out such a transaction as a minister in 2013, nor did he have any authority under the law to alienate state property.

Since the aforementioned property belongs to the European University, we feel it necessary to refute this information and state the following: the resort located in the Agveran community of Kotayk Province was handed over to the "European Educational Regional Academy" foundation (currently the "European University" foundation) according to the Government of Armenia's decision No. 1700-A dated December 1, 2011, and is recorded on its balance sheet, meaning the stated property has neither been alienated nor sold.

Furthermore, since the "European University" foundation is a non-profit organization according to the Armenian Law on Foundations, in the event of its potential dissolution, its property becomes the property of the Republic of Armenia, providing a more complete picture. Additionally, the European University is a public institution founded by the decision and participation of the government of Armenia and with international involvement, therefore the stated property cannot belong to any individual, including Arthur Baghdasaryan.

According to Article 1087.1, Part 3 of the Civil Code of Armenia, defamation is the public presentation of factual data about a person that does not correspond to reality and tarnishes their honor, dignity, or business reputation. Subsequently, according to Article 8, Part 1 of the Armenian Law on Mass Media, "An individual has the right to demand from a news organization the refutation of factual inaccuracies that violate their rights, which have been disseminated in the information provided by the news organization, unless the latter proves that these facts correspond to reality." Based on the provisions of the aforementioned articles, we request that the misinformation disseminated be refuted in accordance with the requirements of Article 8, Part 3 of the Law on Mass Media of Armenia.