Media Deliberately Distorts Facts About Prosecutor in Kocharian Case, Prosecutor General's Office

The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia reports that the Yerevan Today news website, continuing its anti-campaign against prosecutor Gevorg Baghdasaryan in the case of Robert Kocharian and others, published an article based on falsehoods regarding his property, including apartments and the application for acquiring an apartment submitted by his wife.

It is clarified that Gevorg Baghdasaryan and his wife, Liana Ghazaryan, submitted applications to the State Committee of Urban Development in August 2020, considering the fact that their living space was small compared to the number of family members, for purchasing an apartment through a mortgage as part of the state program for housing provision for public servants and were recognized as priority participants in the lottery by the established legal procedure. Following this, Liana Ghazaryan did not continue her participation in the mentioned program, was removed from the list of lottery participants, and did not partake in it.

Gevorg Baghdasaryan participated in the legally mandated lottery and did not win. It is clearly evident from the publication that its author not only deliberately falsified the facts but also attempted to distort them using manipulative terminology, presenting the notion that the apartment should not be purchased within the framework of the program, but instead be given to the public servant.

Journalistic ethics also required not to lie by stating that Gevorg Baghdasaryan was involved in the defense of the accusations against Robert Kocharian, which is why he was subsequently appointed as the prosecutor of Yerevan, as this appointment occurred prior to his engagement in the case as a prosecutor.

Taking into account that fabricated facts were presented in the context of "playing patriotism,” we hope that the colleagues of the Yerevan Today news website will thoroughly investigate and publicly disclose, in full detail, the properties of both Gevorg Baghdasaryan and other previously public servants mentioned in the publication, including Robert Kocharian and the other accused in the case. This includes the number of apartments, the areas they occupy, the necessity for each apartment at the time of acquisition, the methods and sources of acquisition. Based on this comparison, they should also address how many of the latter have shown initiative to allocate their property to families displaced from Artsakh amidst the posed questions.

It is regrettable but highly indicative that our esteemed colleagues in the editorial office are still unable to rid themselves of the inherited flawed thinking that equates the prosecutorial function in defending an indictment with protecting the authority.