Zaroukian's Lawyer Files Report of Criminal Offense

Dear compatriots, as a member of the legal team of Gagik Zaroukian, I inform you that today, on June 16, 2020, I submitted a report to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia regarding the circumstances of the searches conducted in Gagik Zaroukian's residences and the associated events involving certain officials of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia. This report aims to clarify and provide a criminal legal assessment of apparent crimes as stipulated by Articles 308 and 309 of the RA Criminal Code.

This was announced in a Facebook post by Gagik Zaroukian's lawyer, Smbat Minasyan, who stated, “In submitting the report of the criminal offense, I considered the following circumstances: As has already been reported, on June 14, 2020, searches were conducted in the residences of Gagik Zaroukian with the participation of dozens of NSS employees based on decisions from the first-instance court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan. After the searches were completed at the residence, Gagik Zaroukian was taken by NSS officers to the NSS investigative department, where he was inexplicably interrogated as a witness in another criminal case, particularly regarding former State Revenue Committee Chairman Gagik Khachatryan and others, based on the ruling in the case Eckle v. Germany, concerning emerging suspicions.

Furthermore, the NSS's official website published and disseminated documents and videos found during the searches at Gagik Zaroukian’s residence, as well as three publications regarding Gagik Zaroukian’s alleged involvement in criminal offenses.

According to both my understanding and that of other members of the defense team, conducting a search at Gagik Zaroukian’s residence, as indicated in the search warrant stating relevant data about the alleged crime committed by Gagik Zaroukian, and questioning him based on the ruling in Eckle v. Germany, indicates that there is a criminal prosecution being carried out against Gagik Zaroukian. This is substantiated by the European Court of Human Rights and the precedent-setting positions articulated in prior decisions, equating this with the term 'indictment.' In my view, this is unacceptable and unlawful, as the immunity granted to Gagik Zaroukian as a member of parliament has not been overcome.”