Nichol Pashinyan Questioned in Connection with Criminal Case

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has provided details regarding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's questioning that took place today. According to the Investigative Committee, "The Criminal Procedure Code Main Investigation Department is examining the criminal case related to the wiretapping of phone conversations that took place on September 11 and December 5, 2018, between Prime Minister N. Pashinyan and the former Director of the National Security Service, A. Vanetsyan, as well as the Chief of the Special Investigative Service, S. Khachatryan, which involve public officials allegedly abusing their official powers as outlined in the first part of Article 309 of the Armenian Criminal Code. This case also investigates the circumstances surrounding the interference in the judicial processes related to the detention requests for Robert Kocharian and Yuri Khachaturov.

As a witness in this criminal case, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appeared before the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee and was questioned regarding possible interferences in the courts. The investigation also encompasses the illegal wiretapping and dissemination of phone conversations between the former Director of the National Security Service and the Chief of the Special Investigative Service, which fall under Article 146, Part 1, and Article 254, Part 3, Clause 4 of the Armenian Criminal Code. In this regard, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was questioned as a victim concerning the violations of his rights and legal interests resulting from illegal wiretapping, recording, and distribution of video content on the internet, as well as various other relevant circumstances. The two sessions of questioning lasted a total of 2 hours and 35 minutes.