Judge Samvel Uzunyan Leaves Armenian State Border, Wanted Notice Issued

Former judge Samvel Uzunyan has been involved as an accused, and a wanted notice has been issued against him. This was announced by Gor Abrahamyan, advisor to the Armenian Prosecutor General, in response to a question from Armenian Times.

He reported that immediately after the Council of Justice approved the motions submitted by the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia on the evening of December 20, the acting Prosecutor General, following a decision by the Deputy Prosecutor General, involved Uzunyan as an accused in the case, and the decision was sent to the Investigative Committee of Armenia for the purpose of bringing charges and deciding on a preventive measure.

Following this, the court approved the request to arrest Uzunyan. “The police have been instructed to present him to the prosecuting body. However, it has been reported that during the period of presenting and discussing the motions, Uzunyan left the state border of Armenia, and a decision has been made to declare him wanted. By the assignment of the Prosecutor's Office, measures are being taken to clarify the circumstances of Uzunyan's departure from Armenia and to provide a legal assessment if there are substantial grounds,” said Gor Abrahamyan.

It is noteworthy that several days ago, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) agreed to initiate criminal prosecution against the former president of the general jurisdiction court of the Avan and Nor Norq administrative districts of Yerevan, Samvel Uzunyan, and to deprive him of his liberty.

The criminal case is related to the period when Uzunyan was leading the general jurisdiction court of the Avan and Nor Norq administrative districts in Yerevan. In particular, it has been substantiated by a sufficient combination of evidence that Samvel Uzunyan, in one instance in October 2014, requested bribes in return for issuing a judicial act in favor of a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit, and in another instance concerning a criminal case initiated in 2007, for the benefit of the victim and using his official position to facilitate actions, solicited and received bribes of particularly large amounts—specifically, $13,000 in one case and in another case the equivalent of $38,000 in Armenian drams.

The 65-year-old Uzunyan is the judge who presided over the “October 27” case. It is noteworthy that an emergency incident occurred at the Zvartnots International Airport, where a soft cushion was discovered near Judge Uzunyan; however, this incident and the charges laid against him did not prevent him from leaving the territory of the country.