Georg Kostanyan: The document published by Taguhi Tovmasyan was a pleasant surprise for me

The former Chief Prosecutor of Armenia, Georg Kostanyan, learned today about the document from Interpol regarding him in connection with the March 1 case.

"If I had that document at my disposal or had been aware of it, I would have acted much earlier. So, the document published by Taguhi Tovmasyan was a pleasant surprise for me," Kostanyan stated in an interview with Aysor.am.

He noted that until now, the Prosecutor General's Office and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation had denied Armenia's law enforcement agencies the request to issue an international warrant for his arrest, claiming that he was being politically persecuted. "Initially, regarding the March 1 case, I stated my position, saying there is no evidence at all. When the charges were brought against me, I asked them to present at least one piece of evidence so that I could accept my guilt and face the consequences. Naturally, they did not provide anything. Moreover, I declared that they should organize a public discussion, and I would come to Armenia at that time to present my entire position publicly. I have always insisted that there is no evidence related to me in any matter, and this has effectively been confirmed by Interpol," Kostanyan noted.

According to the former Chief Prosecutor, there is absolutely no evidential base regarding other persons involved in the March 1 case either, because all these cases should be interconnected. If there is no evidence against one person, this mechanically implies an absolute absence of evidence against the others as well.

Kostanyan insisted that, as he stated before, today he claims that none of this will go without consequences, especially given that there is a global consensus that all of this was fabricated, formal, and political in nature. "This document that was published is irrefutable evidence, which means that surely a number of people, including prosecutors and investigators, along with their superiors, have irrefutable evidence that serves as the basis of their accusation. Of course, they will inevitably be held accountable and face consequences, and no one can now say, 'We were following the law,' because now, not a political body, but an international legal body has stated that 'guys, you were not only not following the law, but you also committed illegal acts.' This means that the crimes of our Prosecutor's Office, the Anti-Corruption Committee, and their political sponsors have been substantiated by the document issued by Interpol," said Kostanyan.

Regarding what lesson the government might take from this Interpol document, the former Chief Prosecutor stated that he is no longer concerned with that, as what matters is that it has been established globally that this government is carrying out political persecution and committing illegal acts.

"What lesson could they learn? If they were capable of learning lessons, they wouldn’t have acted in such a manner, especially since I have been saying from the beginning, 'Guys, there is no basis; do not commit illegal acts or you will have to answer for it.' Now it is time for them to respond. The existence of this document means that they are also subject to international accountability, including international criminal accountability," Kostanyan emphasized.

When asked when he would return to Armenia, Kostanyan mentioned that he had said a year and a half ago that he would be in Armenia the very day they would lift the warrant against him.

“You see, I am not wanted in the whole world, only in Armenia. Throughout this entire period, they deliberately created obstacles to prevent my return, because I have been saying from the first day, 'Lift the warrant, I will come, you can arrest me afterwards if you want, I have no problem with that.' Even when the war started, I officially applied, stating again, 'Lift the warrant, I will come to Armenia, you can arrest me if you wish; I have no issues with that.' They didn’t even agree to that, isn’t it clear that their entire goal is to prevent me from coming to Armenia because they understand the consequences, both the prosecutor, the head of the Anti-Corruption Committee, and Nikol, whom I always refer to as Nikol (referring to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan)," Kostanyan stated.

The former Chief Prosecutor asserted that the March 1 case remains unsolved. "Nikol Pashinyan initially claimed that the March 1 case was solved, but then he realized it wasn’t solved, and like always, he lied. In his last interview, he said, 'In my opinion, the context of March 1 is solved.' It is not surprising; this already speaks to mental deviations. How can they say that March 1 is solved? How can they say it is solved when an international body states, 'Guys, you are conducting political persecution with the March 1 case?'" Kostanyan emphasized.

In response to a question of whether the Interpol document is sufficient for Armenia to stop its pursuit against him, Georg Kostanyan replied, "Any normal and competent lawyer should have lifted the warrant even before this Interpol document. Any competent lawyer, especially after this document from Interpol, should lift the warrant, close the case, but since today in Armenia, those who deal with this matter have no connection to competence, therefore, it makes no difference to them," the former Chief Prosecutor stated in an interview with the media.

It should be noted that today, MP Taguhi Tovmasyan published an Interpol document directed to the National Bureau of Interpol in Armenia. According to the document, Interpol refused to issue a wanted notice for former Chief Prosecutor Georg Kostanyan.

According to Tovmasyan's published document, Interpol believes that the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia and the Special Investigative Service have made baseless political accusations and that they cannot restrict anyone’s movement or issue a wanted notice against anyone based on these accusations.