Court Rejects Immunity Motion for Armen Charichyan; No Appeal to Constitutional Court

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Vahe Misakyan, has rejected the defense motion regarding the parliamentary immunity of Armen Charichyan. The motion sought to appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the parliamentary status of the individual.

The basis of the motion was the assertion that Armen Charichyan enjoys parliamentary immunity, and according to existing regulations, criminal prosecution against a member of parliament can only be initiated with the consent of the National Assembly (NA). Additionally, a member of parliament cannot be deprived of their freedom without the NA's consent. However, the current regulations do not provide a procedure for obtaining consent for the continuation of already initiated criminal proceedings. At the same time, the constitutional norm stipulates personal immunity applicable to all situations.

It is worth mentioning that on June 18, a recording was published online, where Charichyan was heard telling his employees that management would adopt a very strict attitude towards those who would not participate in the elections. On the same day, it became known that Charichyan was arrested in connection with a criminal case being investigated by the Special Investigative Service (SIS) regarding allegations of coercing employees of his center to participate in the extraordinary elections of the NA.

On June 21, the Central Electoral Commission allowed criminal prosecution against Armen Charichyan. The investigator submitted a motion to select arrest as a measure of restraint against Charichyan. On June 23, the court made a ruling to arrest him.