Anti-Corruption Committee Clarifies Response to Arthur Ghazinyan's Statement

The Anti-Corruption Committee has released a clarification regarding statements made today by Arthur Ghazinyan, co-founder of the 'One Armenia' party.

The clarification states: During a meeting with journalists, Arthur Ghazinyan addressed the decision by the investigators of the RA Special Investigation Service to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings based on his report submitted on June 12, 2020. He made several statements that are out of context and do not correspond to the content of the decision, prompting the need for clarification on the following points.

Ghazinyan's report indicated the necessity to verify the legality of the cause for initiating a criminal case and whether the basis was sufficient. Consequently, materials were prepared in accordance with Articles 180-181 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code by the RA Special Investigation Service.

During the preparation of these materials, necessary verification activities were conducted by the investigator to make an objective final decision based on the examination results. It was determined that Arthur Ghazinyan, who reported a crime, presented a series of subjective interpretations regarding alleged crimes committed by government officials.

The prosecuting authority found that statements made by the RA Minister of Health or other responsible officials did not contradict the official position of the World Health Organization.

As a result of a joint analysis and evaluation of the factual data obtained during the material preparation, there was no evidence that any official from the executive body of the Republic of Armenia abused their official position or concealed or distorted information regarding situations, events, facts, or phenomena that could pose danger to life or health, or committed any criminal acts against public service. Therefore, the prosecuting authority recorded that there was no instance of a crime as defined by Articles 308, 309, 278, or others of the RA Criminal Code, and decided to refuse to initiate a criminal case.

Regarding Ghazinyan's mention that the Anti-Corruption Committee's reply states he formed opinions more than five months after the first recorded case of coronavirus, it is important to note that the prosecuting body did not dispute the fact that the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the Republic of Armenia was registered on March 1, 2020, as clearly mentioned in the investigator's decision. The phrase 'more than 5 months after the first confirmed case' appears only once in the text of the decision and is merely a technical error. Moreover, to avoid further speculation and to emphasize the public’s right to receive impartial and complete information, the investigator's decision is attached in full.