Report on Hayrapetyan Case to be Submitted to Russian Law Enforcement if Criminal Proceedings are Rejected in Armenia, Says "Pastinfo"

The case of former Armenian Football Federation president Ruben Hayrapetyan has yet to see a criminal case initiated concerning possible illegal interference from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's legal aide, Anna Vardapetyan. However, the ten-day period for the preparation of materials is about to expire.

Hayrapetyan's attorney, Amram Makinyan, stated in an interview with "Pastinfo" that he has not received any documents regarding the initiation or rejection of a criminal case. The lawyer also indicated he was unaware if the preparation period had been extended but added that he did not believe it would be necessary.

According to the attorney, if a decision is made to reject the initiation of a criminal case, he will be compelled to report this disgrace to another country's law enforcement agencies, specifically Russia.

“To be honest, we do not wish to take such a step because we are convinced that this correspondence may contain information that would be undesirable for foreign law enforcement to scrutinize. However, if the abuses reach a point where the incident is covered up, we will be forced to proceed and will do so certainly,” Makinyan remarked, adding that they will pursue all questions to the very end.

Makinyan also does not rule out the possibility that, if he appeals to Russian law enforcement, a search warrant may be issued for Anna Vardapetyan, Pashinyan's assistant.

It is noteworthy that a controversial video emerged on March 10, which evidences that decisions on accusations were coordinated with Anna Vardapetyan, who reserved the right to edit and instruct the investigator on what charges to bring against the Hayrapetyans. On March 11, the Prosecutor's Office announced that the media publications had been sent to the NSS to prepare materials. However, according to Article 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, conducting an investigation of apparent criminal acts by officials and law enforcement employees is reserved for the Special Investigation Service, not the NSS.

Concerns exist within the professional community that the NSS intends to initiate a criminal case not regarding Vardapetyan's apparent obstruction of justice and exceeding official authority, but rather concerning information leaks, as evidenced by the fact that the case has been referred not to the SIS, but to the NSS. Furthermore, the Investigative Committee has not initiated a service investigation, and the powers of the investigator who received orders from the Prime Minister's assistant have not been suspended. Instead, the investigator reported that illegal access had been gained to his personal email, and information had been downloaded.