Robert Nazaryan Will Not Be Detained as Appeals Court Maintains Previous Ruling

Former chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Robert Nazaryan will not be detained. The Court of Appeals, under the presidency of Judge Rubik Mkrtchyan, rejected the prosecutor's appeal against the decision of the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court to refuse the investigator's request for detention as a precautionary measure. This was reported to Factor.am by lawyer Gagik Khachikyan.

The court also rejected the defense's appeal, which disputed the existence of reasonable suspicion; however, as emphasized by attorney G. Khachikyan in an interview with Factor.am, reasonable suspicion is absent, and the issue of submitting a cassation complaint will be discussed after receiving the court's decision.

As previously reported, Nazaryan has been charged under Article 308, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia for abusing his official powers, which has resulted in serious consequences. The act carries a punishment of imprisonment for a term of two to six years, along with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in specific activities for up to three years. Meanwhile, the amnesty declared by the National Assembly in 2018 in connection with the 2800th anniversary of Erevan and the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the First Republic of Armenia applies to individuals over 60 years old who are accused of committing crimes punishable by no more than six years of imprisonment.

In other words, the court cannot impose imprisonment as a form of punishment under the incriminated article; however, both the Special Investigative Service and the Prosecutor General's Office have requested Nazaryan's detention by presenting the respective motion to the court and appealing the court's decision to refuse detention.

Defense attorney Sasun Rafayelyan stated in an interview that it was also unexpected for them that the Prosecutor's Office would file an appeal, questioning why they want to detain a person if the amnesty applies to the article in question. According to him, this represents the current political approach of the Prosecutor's Office, as they are trying to fill prisons.

Regarding investigatory actions involving Robert Nazaryan, the attorney indicated that no actions have taken place during this period, and the investigative body has only summoned him once to introduce the new head of the investigative group.

It is noteworthy that charges have been filed against former chairman Robert Nazaryan and former members of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Shiraz Kirakosyan and Musheg Koshetsyan, as well as Deputy Chairman Nikolay Grigoryan under Article 308, Part 2 of the Criminal Code for abusing their official powers, which caused serious consequences.

According to a statement from the Special Investigative Service, sufficient evidence has been obtained during the pre-trial investigation that due to the actions of Robert Nazaryan and the above-mentioned members of the commission, for the sale of electricity produced and delivered by the hydroelectric power station of Dzoraget Hydro LLC, during 2012-2019, tariffs exceeding twice the established tariffs for the same periods were set, resulting in an additional receipt of a particularly large amount totaling 7,052,065,099 AMD from physical and legal entities consuming electricity in Armenia.

R. Nazaryan has denied the charges against him, evaluating them as baseless and illegal. Moreover, the charge falls under the scope of amnesty.