Moses Hakobyan's Case Transferred to Another Judge

The case of former Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Moses Hakobyan, has been reassigned by the President of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, Arthur Mkrtchyan. It will now be heard by Judge Manvel Shahverdyan, according to Factinfo.

As previously reported, the criminal case against Moses Hakobyan, who has been accused of disclosing state secrets, was initially assigned to Judge Vache Margaryan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction. However, Margaryan recused himself, citing a bias in the matter.

On July 22, Judge Vache Margaryan voluntarily announced his recusal, stating that he had a biased attitude regarding the case of Moses Hakobyan. As a result of the reassignment by Arthur Mkrtchyan, the case has now been assigned to Judge Manvel Shahverdyan, whose name has been mentioned in professional circles as one who conveys the will of the authorities and law enforcement agencies. At this time, the judge's rating is 5 points.

It is worth noting that after the war ended, on November 19, Lieutenant General Moses Hakobyan made a number of sensational statements during a press conference, claiming that on the third day of the war, the Prime Minister ordered the halt of military replenishment and directed volunteers to the front. Based on these declarations, a criminal case was initiated at the SCC under Article 308, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, characterizing abuse of power; however, up to this point, no official has been charged.

Additionally, no criminal case was opened on the grounds of false denunciation. Instead, a case concerning the disclosure of state secrets has been opened at the NSS, in which Moses Hakobyan has been accused of revealing information containing state secrets. Notably, the NSS's actions confirm the truth of Hakobyan's statements, meaning that the evidence is undeniable. Therefore, it remains unclear why the SCC has not charged Nikol Pashinyan to date.