NSS Rejects Criminal Case Initiation on Alleged Interference by PM's Assistant

The National Security Service (NSS) has announced that no criminal case will be opened regarding the alleged illegal interference and obstruction of justice by Anna Vardapetyan, assistant to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in the criminal case involving former president of the Football Federation of Armenia, Ruben Hayrapetyan, and his son, Rafik Hayrapetyan.

The NSS press service informed ‘Factinfo’ that the initiation of a criminal case has been rejected.

It should be noted that a controversial video surfaced, proving that the charges in the case were agreed upon with Anna Vardapetyan, who granted herself the authority to edit and instruct the investigator on what charges to bring against the Hayrapetyans. This information was disseminated on March 10.

On March 11, the Prosecutor's Office announced that the media publications had been sent to the NSS for preparatory work, while according to Article 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, the investigation of crimes committed by officials and employees of law enforcement agencies is the responsibility of the Special Investigative Service, not the NSS.