Court Reaffirms Detention as a Preventive Measure for Levon Sargsyan: NSS

The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, committed to providing the public with information within legal boundaries, informs that in 2018 a statement was released regarding former National Assembly member Levon Sargsyan’s involvement in a criminal conspiracy aiming to commit robbery against family members of Armen Avetisyan, the former head of the State Revenue Committee under the Government of Armenia, for the purpose of particularly large-scale property theft. The statement included illegal acquisition and possession of weapons, for which he was implicated as a defendant in the criminal case being investigated by the NSS’s investigative department according to Articles 223, 175, and 235 of the RA Criminal Code. Consequently, detention was chosen as a preventive measure, and he was placed on the wanted list.

As a result of extensive operational and investigative measures, along with close cooperation between the RA Police and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, Levon Sargsyan, who was on the wanted list, was discovered on November 22, 2019, in Zelenograd, Moscow region, and was taken into custody. Following this, a process was initiated for his extradition through the RA Prosecutor General's Office, and on August 6, 2020, he was handed over to Armenian law enforcement authorities.

In strict compliance with the law, the conducting authority ensured Levon Sargsyan's right to defense, and the issue of his detention was reconsidered in court upon a petition. As a result, the court reaffirmed the decision to choose detention as a preventive measure against Levon Sargsyan.

The preliminary investigation continues; operational and investigative measures are being undertaken to clarify other significant circumstances related to the case, as well as to identify and hold accountable other individuals connected to the criminal act.

Notice: A suspect or accused of an alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia through a legally effective court judgment.