"Hovhannes Galstyan is Misrepresenting" – Armen Amiryan Appeals to Court

The former Minister of Culture of Armenia, Armen Amiryan, has addressed the criminal case involving him through his Facebook page, stating that he is appealing to the court because director Hovhannes Galstyan has repeatedly slandered and insulted him.

Below is the full text of the post:

“Dear compatriots, dear friends,
Thank you for paying attention to my previous post and for the numerous supportive comments I received. During my 52 years of life, I have never heard as many lies and falsehoods as I have in the past two weeks. I thought the holiday of the resurrection of Christ would cleanse evil thoughts and heal sick, treacherous imaginations. I considered remaining silent, thinking they would understand their guilt. But the thread of lies has rolled so much that now the debacle, like a large empty balloon, is about to burst on some faces. There is only one truth, and no matter how much they wish to misrepresent it, it will shine like a ray of sunlight. And the truth is this: Hovhannes Galstyan presented to me a significant program for proper participation in the Cannes Film Festival. The budget of the proposed program was larger than the funds allocated in the ministry's budget. He said, 'I have sponsors who will help.' Later, the Cinema Center applied, and I approved the program, instructing the Cinema Center (then headed by Gevorg Gevorgyan) to organize it. Hovhannes Galstyan was the head of the delegation.

Only about a week remained before departure. I was informed that the Cannes program was collapsing, and it was due to the head's fault. A quick decision was made to change the head of the program. Hovhannes Galstyan transferred everything to the new head of the program. They stayed within the deadlines, and the delegation, including Hovhannes Galstyan, went to Cannes. They returned, presenting substantive and financial reports (airfare, accommodation, per diem, pavilion, etc.). Later, I was informed by Hovhannes Galstyan that his sponsor had partially backed out of the promise.

In a responsible job, there are times when one must make decisions to help a person in non-standard situations. I told Hovik that we would discuss the issue and definitely find a solution, even though I had no obligation to do so. Shortly after, I resigned. This is the entire story that Hovhannes Galstyan is misrepresenting, claiming that I demanded and received money from him. When, where, and for what purpose... He went to Cannes himself and spent it himself; it is clear from the report what was spent on.

In recent days, Hovhannes Galstyan has made numerous public slanderous and insulting statements, which will not go unanswered. He must publicly refute the slanders and apologize for the insults. For this purpose, we are submitting a claim to the court. I am confident that this trial will be the best lesson for those who cross the boundaries of morality.”

It is worth noting that the Investigative Committee announced that it is investigating a case of embezzlement of large sums by the former Minister of Culture of Armenia and for exceeding his official powers. According to the Investigative Committee, in 2017, under the pretext of covering the expenses for the participation of the Armenian delegation at the Cannes Film Festival, the director Hovhannes Galstyan was requested and partially received approximately 6,800,000 AMD from the former Minister of Culture for the film “My Grandmother's Hairs.”