Prosecutor's Office Denies Reports of Military Uniforms and Weapons Distributed from CP Office

Following the aggression against the Republics of Artsakh and Armenia and the cessation of military operations, individual persons and media outlets have made statements and disseminated information regarding alleged or planned acts of violence during the public processes initiated in Armenia. The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has reported this.

The Prosecutor General's Office, within the framework of ongoing monitoring, officially records such reports, making them the subject of investigation. Whenever sufficient grounds exist in these reports, they are referred to relevant bodies to be subjected to legal scrutiny, evaluation, and resolution.

Among such incidents was a widely reported statement made by the member of the Prosperous Armenia Party and National Assembly Deputy Iveta Tonoyan at the office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. She claimed that at 17:00 on November 12, 2020, a clear directive had been issued by the authorities to create provocations and disturbances during actions planned by 17 political parties, for which military uniforms and weapons had been distributed overnight from the office of the Civil Contract party to their supporters.

In relation to this, preliminary materials have been prepared by the Central Department of the Police of Armenia, under which necessary measures have been undertaken to ascertain the validity of the reported information and identify any possible criminal actions.

Specifically, explanations have been taken from members of the mentioned faction of the National Assembly, as well as from other deputies. They reported that they heard such information from participants of the gathering on Baghramyan Avenue on November 11, and from the press, adding that they do not recognize the individuals who made these claims and do not know who they are; thus, no specific identifying details have been provided by the deputies.

Explanations have also been provided by representatives of the main office of the Civil Contract party, who categorically denied these claims.

During the preparation of materials, the Prosecutor's Office also instructed the police to conduct operational investigative activities to verify these claims, to find out whether anyone had ever received weapons or military uniforms from the CP office, as well as to identify the unknown persons who provided the mentioned information to the Prosperous Armenia deputy, and to present them for questioning, which also did not confirm the reported information.

Based on the above, the investigating authority has made a decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case due to the absence of a crime.