Prosecutor Demands Arrest of Kajaran Mayor and Three Others; Decision to Be Announced Tomorrow

The Prosecutor's Office is calling for the re-arrest of Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan and other defendants in the case, including the former head of the security department of ZMPC, Colonel of the National Security Service Aram Gasparyan, known as "Alpha Chiko," and Armen Andreasyan.

As previously reported, the Syunik Regional Court, presided over by Judge Boris Bakhsiyan, examined the issue of precautionary measures for Manvel Paramazyan, Aram Gasparyan, and Armen Andreasyan while preparing for trial. The court has maintained the decision to keep Paramazyan in custody, while Gasparyan was released on bail. As for Andreasyan, during the final phase of the pre-investigation, the investigative body had applied bail of 20 million drams, but Andreasyan has not been able to pay this amount, and the court has determined that the bail amount should be set at 5 million drams, despite the prosecutor's request for his arrest. The Prosecutor's Office has filed appeals demanding the revocation of the first-instance court's decision and a renewed arrest for Gasparyan and Andreasyan.

According to a report by a Factinfo correspondent, a hearing on the prosecutor's appeal was held today in the Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Armen Danielyan. Before addressing the merits of the appeal, Judge Danielyan inquired about any motions for disqualification, to which Manvel Paramazyan's attorney, Lusine Sahakyan, stated that their position on this matter was already known to the judge but nonetheless would not submit a motion as it would likely be rejected.

Prosecutor A. Gevorgyan, presenting the grounds for the appeal, highlighted the potential for the defendants to obstruct the case, noting that the trial phase for examining evidence has not yet begun, and that the defendants hold social connections and authority.

Andreasyan’s attorney, Lusine Sahakyan, remarked that the issue being discussed is effectively the amount of bail. According to the attorney, by increasing the bail amount, the prosecutor is attempting to have Andreasyan arrested. Defense attorney Ervand Varosyan also noted that during the pre-trial proceedings, the bail for Andreasyan was set at 20 million drams, but now, since the case is in court, the court has found that a bail of 5 million drams is sufficient. Furthermore, there exists a legal casus where the investigative body may apply bail during the investigation phase, and in case the bail is not paid, the prosecuting body has the right to appeal to the first instance court for the judicial oversight to address the issue of arrest or reducing the bail amount. However, a casus has arisen where the previous prosecuting authority, represented by the prosecutor's office, is appealing to the current prosecuting body, which is now outside the judicial oversight framework, attempting to seek an arrest as a precautionary measure.

Defense attorneys for Andreasyan requested the court to reject the appeal as baseless, while also considering Andreasyan's health condition.

Defense attorney Davit Karapetyan for Aram Gasparyan noted that the prosecutor's office is demonstrating a double standard in the case of another defendant, Nver Mkrtchyan, despite the fact that Mkrtchyan faces more serious charges. Mkrtchyan has been subjected to a measure of not leaving the country, whereas he has previously evaded attendance during the trial process in Syunik, which warranted the judge to reassess his precautionary measure and arrest him. Surprisingly, even under those circumstances, the prosecutor did not wish to have Mkrtchyan arrested. It is noted that Mkrtchyan is a member of the "Civil Contract" party.

The defense also raised the issue that Judge Armen Danielyan does not have access to the case materials; the court only has the procedural documents in front of it. After hearing the positions of both sides, the Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Armen Danielyan, has retired to a consultation room to make a decision. The court's decision will be announced on December 7 at 11:30 AM.

It is noteworthy that after the extraordinary parliamentary elections, a new momentum has been given to the calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from the mayors of Syunik. A search was conducted at the residence of the Kajaran Mayor on July 8, after which he was detained around 11:15 AM and taken to Yerevan to present himself to the NSS, though he was only presented to the investigative department of the NSS late on July 9 at 01:24 AM, as indicated in the arrest record. Manvel Paramazyan was arrested on July 10. He is charged under Section 3(1) of Article 38-178, Section 4(2) of Article 311, Section 2(1) of Article 179 (two counts), and Section 1 of Article 314 (four counts) of the Armenian Criminal Code. Six other individuals hold the status of defendants in this case, including NSS Colonel Aram Gasparyan, known as Alpha Chiko, who is charged under Sections 2(4) and 2(5) of Article 35-149, Section 1 of Article 38-308, and Article 144 (two counts) of the Armenian Criminal Code. The investigation in this case has concluded, and the prosecutor's office has confirmed the indictment, forwarding the case to court.