Goris Community Leader Charged, Motion for Arrest Submitted

The Special Investigative Service of Armenia has revealed through its ongoing investigation that A. A., the head of the Goris community in Syunik Province and the 32nd candidate on the electoral list of the "Armenia" alliance, prepared for a serious crime aimed at securing the maximum votes for the mentioned alliance and achieving a desired election outcome based on personal and group interests. This crime involves bribing two or more voters.

In pursuit of his criminal objective, A. A. met with L. A., the administrative head of the Goris community's Karahunj settlement, in his office a few days before the early parliamentary elections and offered to provide monetary assistance to voters who would promise to vote for the "Armenia" alliance after the elections. However, the crime was not completed due to circumstances beyond A. A.'s control, as L. A. refused to meet with the voters or to offer them bribes in the form of monetary assistance.

Additionally, on April 28, 2021, at A. A.'s request, L. A. organized a meeting for him with a group of residents from Karahunj who requested financial support from A. A. for various issues. Subsequently, these voters received between 100,000 to 220,000 AMD via bank transfer from the Goris Municipality.

Later, during the electoral campaign, A. A. misused his official position to obstruct the free exercise of voting rights for a group of voters in Karahunj during the same elections, while also coercing voters to vote in favor of the mentioned alliance by exploiting their service dependency. Specifically, A. A. instructed L. A. to manage the electoral headquarters for the alliance in Karahunj and consolidate all resources, including those who had already received financial assistance from the Goris Municipality, to participate in the campaign and elections and vote for the "Armenia" alliance.

Under A. A.'s organization, L. A. personally obstructed the free exercise of voting rights for the residents of Karahunj through meetings and phone calls on various dates following June 7, 2021, using his official position to compel participation in the elections and vote for the "Armenia" alliance. Moreover, by taking advantage of these voters' socially vulnerable conditions, L. A. coerced them to vote for the aforementioned alliance during the elections scheduled for June 20, 2021.

For these criminal acts, A. A. was charged on July 15, 2021, under Article 35-154.2, Part 4, Clause 2; Article 38-149, Part 2, Clause 4; and Article 38-154.2, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. An application for A. A.'s arrest as a preventive measure has been submitted to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan by the investigator of the Special Investigative Service.