There is a person who is about to be charged and there is a high likelihood that he will not be in Armenia at that time, says Pashinyan

During a Q&A session with the Government in the National Assembly, MP Viktor Yengibaryan from the 'My Step' faction expressed his concern regarding several former officials involved as defendants in the March 1 case, who are currently not in Armenia and have warrants issued for their arrest.

“What approach do you have concerning this practice?” the MP asked. The Prime Minister emphasized that this issue has two aspects: legality and justice. Nikol Pashinyan recalled that months ago, former Minister of Environment Aram Harutyunyan left the country upon learning that he would be charged.

“There were accusations regarding why he left, but that objective accusation was political, not legal, because if the law enforcement agencies had not allowed him to leave, it would have been illegal for him, as a Member of Parliament enjoying immunity, to leave,” Pashinyan noted.

The Prime Minister also added: “There is a person who we assume knows that he is about to be charged, and there is a high probability that he will not be in Armenia at the time the charges are brought. Yesterday, I posed this question: can we prohibit him from leaving the Republic of Armenia? I was told that if our principle is legality, we cannot do such a thing.”

Addressing those who leave the country, Nikol Pashinyan stated that it is a complicated issue and that they will work on it. “Some will succeed in returning, others will not, but the most important thing is that from a legal perspective and according to declared principles, we must remain maximally clean,” highlighted Nikol Pashinyan.