Journalist Charged with Extorting Police Official

The investigation into a case of large-scale extortion committed by a journalist against a police official has been completed by the Serious Crimes Investigation Division of the RA Investigative Committee.

According to the information provided by the department for public relations and information of the RA Investigative Committee, the journalist, who has been engaged in journalistic activities for years, and recently collaborated with one of the news websites, extorted a significant amount from the police official in exchange for not publishing allegedly damaging information about him.

On June 18, 2019, the journalist proactively visited the police official, introduced himself as a journalist, and claimed to have information about the official’s unfulfilled tax obligations to the state amounting to approximately 41,000,000 AMD related to his entrepreneurial activities. He threatened that this information could be published in several news outlets, which would result in the official's discreditation and potential dismissal from office.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the journalist demanded the payment of 800,000 AMD in order not to publish compromising information that would substantially harm the official's rights and legal interests, threatening to disseminate the information otherwise. To receive the money, the journalist met the police official in his office and received an initial amount of 400,000 AMD in cash, after which he was apprehended by police officers.

Based on the collected evidence during the pre-trial investigation, the journalist has been charged under Article 182, Part 2, Point 3.1 of the RA Criminal Code. He has been placed in custody as a preventive measure, while the court has also permitted the application of an alternative preventive measure in the form of bail.

The completion of the investigation has been announced, and the case has been sent to the prosecutor overseeing the legality of the investigation for approval of the indictment and submission to the court.

Note: The suspected or accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court judgment that has entered into legal force, in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code.