Prosecutor's Office Sends Onik Gasparyan's Application to Special Investigative Service

The Prosecutor's Office has forwarded the application of former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan to the Special Investigative Service. Arsenik Khachatryan, head of the Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, stated this in a conversation with Armenpress.

On February 25, the Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister and the government. The Prime Minister classified this as an attempted military coup. On the same day, he asked the President of Armenia to dismiss Onik Gasparyan from the position of Chief of the General Staff. President Armen Sarkissian did not sign the Prime Minister's proposal to dismiss Onik Gasparyan and, guided by the fourth point of part 1 of Article 169 of the Constitution, appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding the compliance of the law on "Military Service and Status of Military Personnel" adopted on November 15, 2017, with the Constitution.

On March 10, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan is considered to have been dismissed from his position by the force of law. On the same day, Nikol Pashinyan presented a proposal to the President of Armenia to appoint Artak Davtyan as the Chief of the General Staff. The President did not sign the draft proposal of the Prime Minister to appoint Artak Davtyan as Chief of the General Staff and did not appeal to the Constitutional Court. On March 11, the President presented objections regarding the appointment proposal, but these objections were not accepted by the Prime Minister, and with justifications, were sent back to the President; Artak Davtyan officially took over the position of Chief of the General Staff a few days later.

Onik Gasparyan appealed to the Administrative Court of Armenia, which on March 17 accepted the defense's request regarding the application of interim measures. However, the Prime Minister's Office clarified that Onik Gasparyan has been dismissed from the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Following this, Onik Gasparyan's lawyer Arthur Hovhannisyan announced on March 22 that they would file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office.