Manvel Paramazyan Does Not Accept Charge

The defense attorney of the mayor of Kajaran, Manvel Paramazyan, Lusine Sahakyan, has released a statement. It states:

“On July 8 at 11:15 AM, Kajaran community leader Manvel Paramazyan was taken from Kajaran city to Yerevan, to the Investigative Department of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia. Manvel Paramazyan was presented to the Investigative Department on July 9 at 01:24 AM, when the record of his arrest was compiled.

On July 9, charges were brought against Manvel Paramazyan under Articles 38-178, 311, and 154.2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The legality of Manvel Paramazyan’s arrest is being challenged in court by us, while the prosecuting authority has submitted a motion to the court for his detention, which is being examined at the Central Department of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.

Manvel Paramazyan does not accept the charges, believing that all this is part of a politically motivated persecution against him. The charges relate to a story from 2017 involving the acquisition of land from an owner by one of Manvel Paramazyan's acquaintances, who later sold it to a third party at a higher price, with the transaction being carried out in the name of a relative.

Although the transaction was conducted in accordance with the law, notarized and registered in the cadastre, and does not imply any illegality, it is unclear how a criminal offense can be identified in this context. Nevertheless, Manvel Paramazyan claims he had no involvement in that transaction. We will respond more substantively and in detail to the charges in the near future.

In such a case, identifying a criminal offense in what has happened, especially linking all this to Manvel Paramazyan, clearly indicates that we are dealing with actions outside the legal framework.”