Taron Margaryan Has Not Been Interrogated, No Confrontation Has Occurred. No Testimony Against Him, Lawyer States

The former Mayor of Yerevan, Taron Margaryan, has not been subjected to any investigative actions by the authorities following the charges brought against him on February 14, except for the rejection of all his lawyer's motions. This was stated by Taron Margaryan's lawyer, Benik Galstyan, in an interview with NEWS.am.

“There were several motions related to the charges, including requests for clarification, explanation of the charges, and for the authorities to familiarize us with the documentary basis mentioned in the decision of the charges so that we would have the opportunity to provide testimony. All these motions were rejected by the investigator,” the lawyer noted.

Galstyan also mentioned that they had appealed against the decision regarding the measure of restraint imposed on Taron Margaryan to the prosecutor, which was also rejected. It should be noted that at this moment, the measure of restraint selected for him is a signature not to leave.

“A person has been involved as a defendant to spread this fact through the media. We are preparing motions to take further actions. I believe there are certain motions that the preliminary investigation body simply cannot ignore,” he stated.

The lawyer indicated that they will appeal all rejected motions to the prosecutor as well, and, if possible, to the court. According to Benik Galstyan, the investigator has issued a wanted notice for Taron Margaryan while being aware of his whereabouts and the date of his return to Armenia.

He mentioned that Margaryan has not been interrogated, and no confrontation has occurred: “There is no testimony against Taron Margaryan that would warrant a confrontation.”

The lawyer stated that Taron Margaryan does not accept the charges against him: “The charges are extremely vague and unfounded. They are based on certain groundless assumptions.”

It should be noted that charges have also been brought in this case against Arman Sahakyan, the former head of the State Property Management Department under the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and two heads of departments of the Yerevan City Hall for abuse of official powers.

According to a statement released by the Investigative Committee of Armenia, the former mayor is accused of using his official position against the interests of service to allocate and acquire land plots for himself and his close relatives from areas occupied by certain schools in Yerevan. He initiated a process of redefining the boundaries of the land occupied by the schools and instructed the relevant officials and staff of the city hall to issue a new layout of the school land plots.

Charges were brought against Taron Margaryan under Article 308 (part 2) of the Criminal Code of Armenia (abuse of official powers).