‘VETO’ Files Criminal Complaint Against Ioannisyan

The public-political movement 'VETO' has filed a criminal complaint against Daniel Ioannisyan, the head of the NGO 'Citizen’s Awareness Union', with Armenia's Chief Prosecutor Arthur Davtyan.

On May 18 of this year, Daniel Ioannisyan, known to the public as a prominent beneficiary of the 'Soros Foundation', posted the following on his Facebook page:

“I am returning from the combat positions of Verin Shorzha. The Armenian Armed Forces are controlling the situation and have a significant advantage over the Azerbaijani units that have entered the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The main purpose of the visit was to morally support the soldiers in their positions and bring some comfort food. I urge all of you to restore the support that our troops had during the war. The soldier standing on the front lines should know that we love him, that we care for him, and that our rear is strong. It is this soldier who currently ensures our security, not the CSTO.”

From this post, it is directly inferred or reasonably assumed that:

• He has been at the combat positions and is clearly familiar with their locations,
• An individual without any rights has entered the combat positions,
• He is well aware of our troops' equipment, possibly informed about the deployment of military technology and heavy weapons,
• He may be familiar with the number of troops,
• He has been in areas where the enemy has infiltrated the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia,
• He possesses information that constitutes military secrets.

As a beneficiary of 'Open Society Foundations-Armenia' or the 'Soros Foundation', Daniel Ioannisyan acts in the interests of that organization and for its objectives in exchange for compensation. He does not operate independently, on his own initiative or for national purposes; hence, his visit to the positions of the Armenian Armed Forces serves other covert goals. It is evident that both the visit and the actions to 'sweeten the life' of the soldier are conducted at the expense of the 'Soros Foundation' and for its programs, thus serving entirely different objectives than genuinely ‘sweetening’ the life of the Armenian soldier.

During the last devastating war in Artsakh, Daniel Ioannisyan, not being a soldier, volunteer, or in any way a person capable of contributing to the frontline, has repeatedly wandered around Artsakh near our troops' positions at the expense of the 'Soros Foundation', without any logical or understandable purpose.

It is also known that during this war, Daniel Ioannisyan's sister faced issues concerning allegations of espionage from the competent authorities of the Republic of Artsakh. By the way, the public has not been provided with information regarding the true conclusion of that story and its actual causes.

Daniel Ioannisyan is a beneficiary of an organization whose activities often contain elements of anti-national and anti-state actions, the dissemination of false information, and the promotion of destructive 'values'. It is known that the founder of the foundation, the infamous corrupt oligarch George Soros, is a close friend of Turkish President R. Erdogan, as well as an ally of Azerbaijan.

In such circumstances, we have the right to reasonably suspect that, specifically on May 18, 2021, Daniel Ioannisyan was in the areas of penetration of Azerbaijani troops into the territory of the Republic of Armenia, at the positions of the Armenian Armed Forces, actually for espionage purposes. Since he is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, he could be held accountable for treason.

He has been free to gather information constituting military secrets, and it is entirely possible that this information was passed on to the enemy. Based on the aforementioned, we demand the initiation of a criminal case against Daniel Ioannisyan for visiting the positions of the Armenian Armed Forces and for collecting/gaining access to information constituting military secrets, in accordance with Article 299 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (treason) and to hold responsible those individuals involved,” the statement reads.