Criminal Case Launched Against Zaruhi Postanjyan for False Accusation

On February 8, 2021, during a press conference at the "Hayeli" media club, the president of the "Yerkir Tsirani" party, Zaruhi Postanjyan, claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife had dreamt of surrendering lands, and that they had written about it in 2008. She alleged that funds were gathered under this pretext for an agreement to be made.

Following these statements, Zaruhi Postanjyan was invited by the Special Investigative Service of Armenia to provide a report on the crime and give explanations.

When she appeared before the investigation body, she continued to make claims regarding crimes committed by the Prime Minister and his wife, but refused to submit a written report and explanations regarding the alleged crime.

As a result, the information provided by Zaruhi Postanjyan was refuted based on the materials prepared by the Special Investigative Service, and on February 15, 2021, a decision was made to reject the initiation of a criminal case due to the absence of a crime.

Considering that Zaruhi Postanjyan’s actions reportedly exhibit characteristics of false accusation, which is accompanied by an allegation of a particularly serious crime, a criminal case was initiated on the same day based on the second part of Article 333, point 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. This case has been sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia for determining the jurisdiction of the investigation.

Notice: A suspect or defendant in the alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedural law set forth by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia by a final judgment of the court.