Who is Prosecutor Azat Margaryan, who does not work after 6 PM, and what scandal is he known for?

The prosecution is trying to keep Armen Charchyan in custody for one more day at all costs, delegating this task to a prosecutor with a questionable past. This is reported by yerevan.today.

The Court of Appeals today, on July 2, delayed the hearing on the appeal against the detention measure of Armen Charchyan, a member of the 'Armenia' alliance and professor, for a ridiculous reason: the charging prosecutor Azat Margaryan decided not to work after the end of the working day due to the time.

In other words, he does not work after 6 PM. The site notes that when it comes to a person's freedom, the court usually operates outside of regular hours. This occurs both in hearings regarding deprivation of freedom and in those concerning release. Of course, especially since 2018, we have witnessed deviations in several cases; hearings for deprivation of freedom occurred even at night, while motions for changing detention often faced delays of several days.

Nevertheless, Armen Charchyan's lawyer Erik Aleksanyan mentioned in a briefing with journalists that an agreement had been reached to continue work after 6 PM and to complete the hearing today: "The prosecutor did not object to this offer, but at one point he became unwell, announcing that the working hours were over, and he did not wish to participate in the hearing of the appeal."

In turn, lawyer Aram Vardevanyan stated, "Perhaps the prosecutor was upset about the professor's biographical data, the state awards; there could be numerous explanations, but this has nothing to do with the law." And why would prosecutor Azat Margaryan be upset about Professor Armen Charchyan’s biographical details? Perhaps because there are dark spots in his own biography? In this regard, it’s worth recalling a rather intriguing episode published in the 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper in 2019. Referring to its sources, the newspaper wrote: "Conversations are intensifying around the name of Azat Margaryan, who serves as an advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia: Specifically, he worked as a prosecutor in the city of Yerevan from 2013, and at the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014, under the pretext of taking a vacation, he obtained a visa to travel to the USA and went to the USA without resigning from his position, remaining there for about 4.5 years until September 2018. According to circulating rumors, he somehow embezzled around $500,000 using bank cards while in the USA and returned to Armenia."

The newspaper had approached the prosecutor's office for clarifications: they confirmed the trip to the USA, claiming he had resigned and just left. Regarding the $500,000, the prosecutor's office responded: "As for the information referenced by rumors regarding A. Margaryan's alleged fraud or embezzlement in the USA, the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia has no data on this." If the prosecutor's office has "no information," it certainly does not mean that such incidents did not occur. There is little else known about this scandal. However, it is known that this prosecutor serves the authorities in every possible way. For example, recently, when the defense presented guarantees for changing the detention measure, the prosecutor's office objected, arguing that there were still extensive investigative actions to be carried out, which could be hindered by Armen Charchyan being at liberty. However, these "extensive investigative actions" lasted merely one day.

In other words, the prosecution is trying to see Armen Charchyan in custody for one more day at all costs, and this task is assigned to a prosecutor with a questionable past.