Criminal Charges Filed Against the Administrative Head of Karahunj

During the preliminary investigation of a criminal case at the RA Special Investigative Service, sufficient evidence has been obtained to establish that L.A. (Lusine Avetyan), the administrative head of the Karahunj community in the Syunik region, used the circumstance of providing 100,000 to 220,000 AMD under the name of "Financial Support" through bank transfers to four residents of Karahunj in May 2021, coercing them to participate in a campaign organized by the "Armenia" alliance in Goris on June 8, 2021, in relation to the RA National Assembly's snap elections, and also obstructed their free exercise of electoral rights by forcing them to participate in the elections and vote in favor of the mentioned alliance, reported the Special Investigative Service.

In addition, L.A. organized a transfer of 100,000 AMD through banking methods to another resident of Karahunj on May 6, 2021, under the guise of providing financial support due to social and health issues, and then, after the date of the snap elections was announced, presented the transferred amount to the mentioned voter and their spouse as a bribe, coercing them to participate in the campaign organized by the "Armenia" alliance in Goris on June 8, 2021, and also to participate in the elections and vote in favor of the "Armenia" alliance.

For the execution of the aforementioned criminal acts, L.A. was charged on July 6, 2021, under clauses 2 and 4 of part 2 of Article 149, part 2 of Article 149.1, part 2 of Article 154.2, and part 3 of Article 154.2 of the RA Criminal Code. A motion has been submitted by the investigator of the RA Special Investigative Service to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan to select pre-trial detention as a preventive measure against L.A. The preliminary investigation is ongoing.

Notice: The person suspected or accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court judgment that has entered into legal force in accordance with the RA Criminal Procedure Code.