Criminal prosecution initiated against 47 individuals, 40 for bribery in elections: Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia continues to present the results of the work carried out by law enforcement agencies under its supervision concerning apparent electoral offenses during the snap parliamentary elections held on June 20, 2021, as well as other criminal acts related to the elections.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, reports received by the working group created within the Prosecutor General's Office have led to the initiation of 37 criminal cases as of June 25, 2021. Of these cases, 23 were initiated on charges of apparent bribery, both giving and receiving, as well as mediating bribery, most of which occurred under aggravating circumstances. Additionally, 3 cases were launched for coercing or obstructing voters from participating in advocacy, 2 for committing violence or threatening with violence in or near polling stations, 1 for preparing and distributing apparent fake ballots by a group with prior agreement, 1 for threatening damage to property to prevent the exercise of electoral rights, 1 for coercing two or more individuals to participate in elections or vote for a specific party or coalition, 1 for attempting to vote multiple times, and 1 for coercing a voter to disclose their voting outcome to violate voting secrecy. Four more cases were related to the destruction of posters, resulting in property damage.

Criminal prosecution has been initiated against 47 individuals in these cases, with charges brought against 26 of them, while 11 possess the status of suspects. Among these 47 individuals, specifically, 22 are accused or suspected of bribing voters, 18 of receiving bribes, 2 are charged with violating voting secrecy, 1 is accused of coercing or obstructing voters from participating in advocacy, 1 for causing property damage by damaging a campaign poster, and 1 for coercing several individuals to participate in elections and vote for a coalition. One person is suspected of attempting to vote multiple times, and one is charged with committing violence in or near polling stations.

Various charges for bribery have been brought against individuals involved in the June 20 snap parliamentary elections, including 5 individuals from the lists of candidates from 2 alliances and 1 party. Among the candidates, one who had been deemed unlawfully arrested was released from detention and subsequently left Armenia; he has been put on the wanted list. A measure of detention has been chosen for all 6 candidates, as well as for 11 others involved in criminal cases.

Investigative, procedural, and operational-search measures are ongoing in relation to the initiated criminal cases to fully uncover the involvement of all individuals in the criminal manifestations and to fully reveal the crimes. Furthermore, the preparation process of materials related to apparent electoral offenses continues based on numerous reports and alerts. Considering these circumstances, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia will periodically present results of the law enforcement agencies’ work in the ongoing criminal proceedings.